


Of Magic and Mayhem

by KayleeRen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, F/M, Falling In Love, Growing Up, Hogwarts, Magic, Romance, Yule Ball
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-08-29 14:11:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8492800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KayleeRen/pseuds/KayleeRen
Summary: I'm nothing special. I'm just the granddaughter of a renowned wand maker, trying to make it through school until I can take over the family business. Of course, that would be a little easier if my best friends didn't make it their top priority to make as much trouble and chaos as they possibly can along the way. Wrestling with these newfound feelings for one of them doesn't help me either. Oh, and on top of all that, Quidditch is canceled, Roger Davies won't leave me alone, and poor Harry has been chosen as a Triwizard Champion. I'm Ellie Ollivander, and this is going to be one hell of a year.





	1. Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this fic for quite a while. I've loved the series Harry Potter since I was about ten years old. Fred and George were always my favorite characters, George especially. I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

 

I sat my bags down with a huff. Wiping a hand across my sweaty forehead, I crossed my bedroom and collapsed on my bed. It had been a long month. Granddad and I had hardly had time to stop for rest. It was amazing how spry he was, even at his age. Planning on sleeping for the next twelve hours or so, I turned over and let out a sigh of relief into my pillow.

“Ellie, darling you seem to have collected quite a few letters while we were away,” Granddad called, his figure appearing in the doorframe. He was holding a thick wad of envelopes.

I groaned into my pillow. Granddad chuckled.

“Shall I leave them here for you, then?” Granddad asked, setting them down on the dresser.

            With another groan, I sat up.

            “No, no. I’d better get started on them or Angie will have a fit. I haven’t written to her in two weeks now. And who knows how Fred and George are getting on without me,” I said, getting up and retrieving the letters.

            “Try not to stay up too late, dear,” Granddad said, placing a kiss upon my forehead.

            “I won’t. Goodnight Granddad,” I said smiling.

            “Goodnight,” he replied, and retreated off towards his bedroom.

            Wishing for nothing but the comfort of my bed, I sat down at the small desk in the corner of my bedroom and began tearing into the thick stack of letters. The first was from my best friend Angelina Johnson.   

 

_Ellie,_

_I got my OWL results today. You were right, I didn’t do as nearly as bad as I thought I had._

_Astronomy: E_

_Care of Magical Creatures: E_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: O_

_Charms: O_

_Herbology: A (George did his best to tutor me, bless him)_

_History of Magic: P (ugh, who needs that class anyways?)_

_Potions: A (Snape is still a slimy git.)_

_Transfiguration: O_

_Altogether, not too shabby for this girl!_

_This has got to be the longest summer in history. Seriously. I know you’re on holiday with your Grandad, but could you come back soon? I am dying over here without your company or even your letters to read. Mum and Dad are busy working, which means I’m all alone most of the days._

_23 days until the Quidditch World Cup! I cannot even put into words how excited I am!_

_Also, I haven’t gotten any news on who is the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Have you heard anything? Alicia says she hasn’t gotten the letter, and neither have Fred or George. I dunno about Potter._

_Write back the minute you return._

_Love from,_

_Angelina_

_P.S. Fred and George have been pelting me with owls nonstop all summer asking me when you’ll be back. I think they miss you. Please go see them ASAP so I can get some peace from their incessant nagging._

I chuckled and immediately began to write out a reply.

 

_Angie,_

_I just got back about 5 minutes ago. I had an amazing trip. Granddad and I went all over. That’s why I wasn’t able to write you much or receive any letters. Sorry, love._

_We studied unicorns deep in the Black Forest, found a nest of Phoenixes in the Himilayas, and we even met a few Veela in France. I think Granddad liked that last bit more than I did._

_As for my OWLS, I did better than expected as well._

_Astronomy: E_

_Care of Magical Creatures: O_

_Charms: O_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: O_

_Herbology: O_

_History of Magic: A_

_Potions: A_

_Transfiguration: E_

_Not quite what I was hoping for but I’ll take it._

_I haven’t received word of who is the new Team Captain. Maybe McGonagall is waiting until term starts to name a new Team Captain? Don’t worry, Ang. I’m sure you’ll get it. Just promise you’ll carry on Wood’s tradition of terrible pep talks._

_You don’t have to survive too much longer in boredom. Uncle Gerry and I coming to get you next week, so just hold out until then. Have you gotten your school things yet? I haven’t. If you haven’t, we should go to Diagon Alley together next week as well before the Cup._

_I’ll stop in and see Freddie and Georgie tomorrow. I’m sure they’ve gotten on just fine without me, though I worry about the state of poor Molly’s nerves. I swear that woman is a saint. If I had 6 boys to deal with, I’d go mad._

_I miss you Ang! I can’t wait to see you!_

_Love,_

_Ellie_

The next letter was from Alicia Spinnet, another friend who was in our year at Hogwarts. She asked about my holiday and about my OWLs. She asked if I knew anything about the new Team Captain. She also said she wasn’t going to the Cup, but instead she was going on holiday to France with her family. I replied quickly, my eyes feeling heavier and heavier with each passing word.

I turned to the last letter, which was from the twins Fred and George.

 

_Ellie Glenna Ollivander,_

_How dare you not write us! We know you’re busy on your trek across the world with your Granddad, but honestly young lady, you can’t just forget about your friends! We have been worried sick about you! You could have been eaten by a dragon or mauled by a hippogriff for all we know! You write back the instant you return!_

_(Yes, that’s our way of telling you we miss you.)_

_Angie has been pestering us about our OWLS and who got Quidditch Team Captain._

_Please don’t tell us your scores. We already know you aced everything._

_Mum is pretty cross with us. We didn’t get as many OWLS as she wanted. We tried to explain to her that with our exceptionally good looks, grades won’t matter, but she wouldn’t have it._

_We’ve been developing quite a line of products for our Joke Shop. We can’t wait to show you. We think you’ll definitely be impressed. We’ve even thought of a name for the shop. Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. Now doesn’t that just fall off the tongue like silk? We’d also like to get some advice from your gigantic brain. (It’s a lovely brain though darling, honestly. You can hardly tell your head is oversized.)_

_We can’t wait for the Cup! We’re so excited you and Angie are able to join us. Harry and Hermione are tagging along as well._

_Come by the Burrow as soon as you can. We need our little brainiac._

_And if we don’t entice you enough, the object of your desires is staying here for the summer. Yes, Charlie has come to see the Cup as well. Please try not to drool over him too much, Mum has enough to be getting on with without mopping up your mess._

_Yours always, even when you don’t want us,_

_Forge and Gred_

 

Finishing the letter with a grin on my face, I shook my head. Those two always knew how to make me laugh, the idiots. I yawned loudly and began to scribble out a reply, vowing this would be the last letter I wrote tonight.

 

_Forgie and Greddie,_

_I just got back, literally about half an hour ago. I want you to know that I’m writing to you instead of sleeping. That is how much you idiots mean to me, so never say that I don’t care. My holiday was wonderful, thanks for not asking. I’ll bore you with the details tomorrow when I come see you both. No, I’m not going to climb that wretched hill. Granddad has kindly offered to Apparate me over tomorrow before he heads for the shop._

_Yes, Angie wrote to me as well, though I didn’t receive the letters until I got home, thank Merlin. I’ve been abroad so all my post has just stacked up here at home._

_Don’t worry about Molly. I’ll talk to her. I know you two are smart where it counts. Grades don’t reflect the kind of smarts you two have._

_I can’t wait to see what you’ve cooked up. Please tell me it’s nothing dangerous. I can’t take another black eye or purple eyebrows. (I’m still mad about that Georgie…even if it was kind of funny.)_

_Anyways, I’m going to bed. I know you two are still awake, plotting your next prank on poor Ronald or Percy. DO NOT REPLY OR I WILL TURN CERTAIN SENSITIVE BODY PARTS OF YOURS AN EVEN WORSE SHADE OF PURPLE._

_Anyways, I’ll see you tomorrow after I’ve had about twelve hours of sleep in me._

_Night,_

_Ellie_

_P.S. Ha, Ha. Very funny. I was 7, I thought he was cool. I’m older now and realize that Charlie just as big of a dork as you two are._

_Still love you all, though._

_Night._

Groaning, I stood up and crossed the room over to my barn owl, Artemis.

            “Sorry Artie. I know it’s a bit late, but I’ve got a few letters here,” I said groggily. Artie hooted softly.

            “Take this one over the hill to Fred and George first. Then this one to Angie, and this one to Alicia,” I said tying the letters to her leg.

She hooted happily and hopped onto the windowsill. I opened it and she was off with a swoop of her wings.

            Not bothering to get undressed, I flopped back onto my bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.


	2. The Burrow

 

            “Ellie, darling. Are you nearly ready? I need to get to the shop. Who knows what madness Gerry has left it in,” Granddad’s voice called to me through the bathroom door.

            “Nearly. I’ll be out in a minute,” I called back.

I turned back to the mirror and returned to brushing the knots out of my long mahogany hair. It had grown this past month. It now reached past my chest, though currently it was in wild knots. Sighing, I splashed some Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion on my fingers and ran them through the tangles. Instantly, my hair became smooth and shiny. Magic is a wondrous thing.

            I had indeed slept for twelve hours. The dark bags that had gathered there over the month had disappeared after such a long rest. My skin was still pale, even after spending so much time outside. My eyes were still the same pale blue, like my granddad’s. My reflection hadn’t changed much, but as I stared into the mirror, I felt as if I looked different. Age had taken its toll on me, clearing away the childish features and giving way to a more mature physique. My hips curved more, my chest was rounder, and my face looked thinner. It had been a slow and silent change, but it was there nevertheless.

            Shaking myself slightly, I left the bathroom and went to find my Granddad standing in the sitting room, clutching his large leather bag that was filled with ingredients he used to make wands.

            “Ready darling?” he asked holding out his arm.

            “Yeah. Thanks for taking me, Granddad. Going up that hill is a nightmare,” I said clutching his arm.

            He chuckled softly. He waved his wand and instantly that familiar, uncomfortable sensation surrounded me. It felt as if I were being sucked through a very tight tube. An instant later, the feeling was gone and we were standing in front of the Weasley’s home.

            “You’ll be able to make your way home alright?” Granddad asked.

            “Yeah no problem. I’m sure one of the Weasley’s can take me home. Or I could always Floo back,” I replied.

            “Alright then. Gerry should be home when you return. Have a good time,” Granddad said.

            “See you later!” I said waving goodbye to him.

With another crack, he was gone. I started off towards the Burrow which stood towering over me, bathing me in it’s shadow. I knocked on the door and waited.

            Mrs. Weasley was the one to answer the door.

            “Ellie, dear!” she greeted me, clutching me tightly to her in an embrace.

            “Hello Molly! It’s so good to see you!” I said laughing. I had always called her Molly. It had sort of become a term of endearment over the years.

            “Oh, it’s wonderful to see you too! Let me look at you!” She moved away from me at arms length, looking me up and down. “Oh my, what a beautiful young woman you’ve become. Your grandfather must be be going crazy trying to keep the boys at school away. I know I already worry about Ginny."

            I chuckled softly. “I don’t think that thought has crossed his mind yet. Besides I have Fred and George to watch out for me.”

            “Oh those two,” she said, her face growing dark. “I swear I don’t know what I’m going to do with them. Thank goodness you’re back. Maybe you can talk some sense into them.”

She ushered me inside into their little sitting room.

“Molly, you don't have to worry about Fred and George. They're smart in a different sort of way. Exams aren't their strong suit, but I'm sure they will be just fine with whatever they decide to do later on,” I told her wisely. She sighed.

“I can't help but worry about them. They don’t seem to take anything seriously,” she said.

I was about to reply when a voice cut through the air.

“Ellie Ollivander, as I live and breathe!” Charlie said, leaning against the kitchen doorway, beaming at me. 

“Hello Charlie! It’s been a while!” I said, grinning at him.

“It certainly has!” Charlie said, striding forward and embracing me in a bone crushing hug. “You’ve grown up on me!”

“It had to happen some time,” I said shrugging. “You look well. Is that a new scar?”

“Yeah!” Charlie replied glancing down at the long purple scar on his forearm. “Norwegian Ridgeback. Nasty bugger with a bad attitude. But I got away alright.”

I shook my head at him. Charlie worked in Romania, studying dragons. He was constantly coming home with new scars and burn marks.

“I heard you popped over to the Dragon Sanctuary while I was away. Hows your Granddad?” Charlie asked.

“He’s good. We just got back from a month long holiday. We found a new nest of Phoenix’s in the Himilayas,” I said enthusiastically.

“Still going to take over the family business once you’re done with school then?” he asked curiously.

“That’s the plan,” I said.

My grandfather is Garrick Ollivander. Our family has owned Ollivander’s wandshop for centuries now. Everyone says our family makes the best wands; the most reliable wands. Wandlore had been a fascination of mine, ever since I set foot in Granddad’s shop when I was 3. The fascination had seemed to skip Uncle Gerry and gone straight to me. Uncle Gerry was more interested in brooms, and he worked for an international company that designed broomsticks. Granddad had been thrilled when he found out I had a knack for wandlore, and he had been training me on it as his apprentice ever since.

“A respectable career choice,” Molly said approvingly with a nod.

Just then, two twin boys came thundering down the stairs.

“Is that our Ellie we hear?!” George bellowed.

“In our home without us knowing?!” Fred asked.

“Well how dare she!” George answered.

“We’ve spent a month with hardly a word from you and the first thing you do when you walk in our home is to flirt with our older brother?” Fred asked, scathingly.

“For shame young woman,” George scoffed.

I rolled my eyes at the two. They broke into twin smiles before tackling me in giant bear hugs.

“Guys,” I gasped from between them. “Can’t breathe here!”

“Oh Ellie darling,” Fred wailed.

“We were so worried!” George cried, pretending to sob.

“We missed you so much!” Fred said in equally fake sobs.

Charlie laughed. Molly shook her head.

“Boys you’re smothering the poor girl,” she said batting them away from me.

I gasped, trying desperately to regain my breath.

“You guys have gotten stronger,” I said between heavy breaths. “Nearly killed me you did!”

“Look Fred, she didn’t miss us at all,” George said with a scowl.

“Of course I didn’t!” I said, unable to keep a grin spreading across my face. “With the way you two man handle me, I was relieved to have a break!”

“Man handle?” Fred asked raising his brow suggestively.

“Oh you know what I mean,” I scoffed.

They weren’t satisfied with my reaction, and I knew it was best to placate them before they really got going. Sighing, I walked up to Fred and embraced him, placing a kiss upon his cheek (which was difficult to do, as he was a foot taller than me).

“Oh, you,” he said dramatically.

I went up to George next and did the same, embracing him and kissing his cheek. Only, his face went a brilliant shade of pink. I grinned up at him.

“Stop that Ellie. You’re making him blush,” Fred joked.

“Alright, you three. Clear off while I make dinner. Will you be staying Ellie, dear?” Molly asked.

“Yes, please! I haven’t had real home cooked food in about a month!” I said eagerly.

“Well that explains why you’re so thin! Not to worry dear, I’ll make sure you get fed properly for a change,” Molly fussed.

Thanking her again, I followed Fred and George up the stairs to their bedroom.

“And where is Angelina, that sly minx?” Fred asked as we ascended the stairs.

“We’re picking her up next week,” I told him. “She’ll be staying with us the rest of the holiday though, so feel free to stop by and woo her with your uhh….charm.”

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Fred said flashing me a wink.

I knew what Fred had been harboring a crush on my best friend for quite some time now. Angelina seemed to remain quite oblivious.

“So she’ll be going to the Cup as well?” George asked.

“Yep. Not to worry, she’s rooting for Ireland,” I told him as we reached their bedroom.

The twins shared a room on the fourth floor of the Burrow. I was quite familiar with their bedroom, as I had spent quite a lot of my childhood watching the two plan their pranks from within its walls.

Growing up in the small village of Ottery St. Catchpole on the other side of the hill, I had spent many an afternoon in the care of Mrs. Weasley when Granddad had been tending the shop and Uncle Gerry had been away. This was why I was so close to the Weasleys. I was practically one of the family. Being the same age as the twins, I had bonded instantly with them and they had become my best friends. More than once I had gotten into trouble because of their mischievous ways, though I would never admit to my granddad I may have come up with one or two of the pranks.

Their bedroom was chaos. There was no other word for it. There were two beds facing each other across the room beside two dressers, but everywhere there were Zonkos products, Dr.Filibuster No-Heat-Wet-Start-Fireworks, and boxes of half developed products for their own future joke shop.

Feeling right at home I crossed the room and flopped down on George’s unmade bed.

“So, dare I ask what you two have been up to all summer?” I began.

The twins looked at each other, sharing a secret grin.

“Oh no. I really don’t like that look,” I groaned.

“Oh my dear Ellie. We have been quite the busy bees,” Fred started with a grin.

“Without you around to distract us, we’ve come up with quite a few products that are sure to earn us some coin, once we get them just right,” George said, sitting down beside me. He reached under his bed and pulled out a box.

“Oh so now I’m a distraction?” I said with my brow raised.

“Your beauty does tend to ensnare our attention from time to time,” Fred said thickly.

“Well that, and your constant nagging about our ‘safety’” George said, rolling his eyes.

“Oy!” I protested. “Someone has to worry about you two. Otherwise you would have offed yourselves years ago with your experiments!”

“Too true,” George agreed. “And for that we are forever thankful.”

“But,” Fred interjected. “Back to the matter at hand, we think we’ve come up with some good stuff. See here.”

For the next hour or so, I let them show me their new line of products. They showed me some excellent fake wands that turned into different rubber animals when you went to wave them. They had also come up with various trick sweets that each produced different hilarious effects. They had Tongue Ton Toffees that made your tongue grow at an alarming rate, Canary Cremes that covered you in bright yellow feathers that molted away after a few minutes, and they showed me a few sweets called Skiving Snackboxes they were currently working on but hadn't perfected yet.

“This is wonderful!” I said, laughing as George waggled his 3 foot long tongue in my direction. I batted it away.

“Looks like George is feeling affectionate,” Fred said suggestively. I laughed again. George went pink and shot his brother a scowl. Then he swallowed the other half of the candy, and his tongue returned to normal.

“Seriously guys, this is incredible. You’ve really done some impressive magic, making these,” I said gesturing at the box of sweets.

“See, we knew you’d appreciate our genius,” Fred said, smiling widely at me.

“Mum hates them. She said we’ve been wasting our time making these, when we should have been worrying about earning more OWLs,” George said with a scowl.

“She just worries about you two. Trust me, when you’re running your joke shop in Diagon Alley and bringing in tons of Galleons, she won’t be thinking of OWLs. Keep making products like these, and you’re sure to be a hit,” I said firmly.

“Thanks for supporting us Ellie, it really means a lot,” George said, suddenly serious.

“Yeah, this right here is why you’re our best mate. You take us seriously when no one else does,” Fred said, an edge of anger to his voice.

“Well…you do make it rather hard to take you seriously with all the constant joking and pranking. But I can tell when you guys are really set on something. I guess that’s just because I’ve known you two my whole life,” I said shrugging.

“Or because you’re not as thick as the rest of the world,” Fred scoffed, but he was smiling at me.

“Oh! I’ve only just realized,” George said suddenly. “We haven’t asked about your trip.”

“Now you’ve done it,” Fred groaned, seeing my face light up with excitement.

“It was amazing, George, thank you for asking,” I said, shooting a dark look in Fred’s direction.

“Oh go on,” Fred said with a chuckle. “We know you’re dying to tell us.”

“Well….” I said with a grin. “If you insist.”

For the next hour they listened to me explain the month long voyage I had just went on. Every year, Granddad went on a trip all over the world collecting ingredients for his wandmaking. This year he had let me tag along with him. We had collected wood from various trees that had magical properties, but the fun part was finding the magical creatures that provided the cores of the wands.

We had found a herd of unicorns in the Black Forest. We had to befriend them with sugar cubes over the course of a few days before they let us extract some of their tail hairs. Then we were off to Romania to visit with the dragon keepers. We never extracted dragon heartstrings from live dragons. That would be dangerous, and far too sad. Dragons were fascinating creatures, as I’m sure Charlie would agree. Therefore, when a dragon died, the dragon keepers extracted the heartstrings and kept them for us. We bought the ones that seemed the sturdiest and most powerful.

After Romania, we went to France, for a bit of a reprieve, but we had run into some Veela. My granddad had been very interested in them, and I had to remind him that we didn’t use Veela hair as it was too temperamental. He seemed to be eyeing them for a different reason, however.

The Himalayas were next. It took us two weeks of constant tracking to discover that Pheonix nest, but oh was it worth it. They were beautiful, flying around in shades of red and gold. Their songs were so beautiful, and to hear them firsthand is something I will never forget. They grew to trust us, and we were able to extract some feathers from them as well.

Fred and George patiently listened to me go on and on. Fred occasionally rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm, but George listened to me with a smile. Finally, I stopped talking, knowing that when I got going, I could talk for hours.

“Sorry, you guys. I’m boring you,” I said embarrassed.

“Of course not,” George scoffed. “You listen to us when we talk about our joke shop, its only fair we listen to you when you talk about your wandlore.”

“Yeah, it’s an even trade,” Fred agreed.

“Fred? George? Ellie?” Mrs. Weasley’s voice came from downstairs. “Dinner is ready!”

“Oh finally!” I said getting up. “I’m starving!”

“Those are dangerous words to be saying in this house,” Fred smirk. I laughed.

            George stood up next to me, and for the first time, I realized how much they had grown.

            “Merlin, do you two ever stop growing?!” I asked, eyeing the twins.

            “Hey, it’s not our fault you look like you swallowed a shrinking solution,” George joked, towering over me.

            “Seriously, how’s the weather up there?” I joked.

            “Well, at least if it rains we’re the first ones to know,” Fred said with a chuckle as we made our way downstairs.


	3. Diagon Alley

 

            “Hurry up Uncle Gerry!” I groaned, flinging myself against his door.

            “Keep your cloak on!” he grumbled. “I’m comin, I’m comin!”

            “Angie’s waiting on us to save her from her boring parents!” I insisted.

            “Alright! I’m ready,” he said, coming out of his room finally dressed.

            “Yay!” I laughed, hugging him around the middle.

He chuckled and offered me his arm. I took it and a moment later we were standing in front of Angelina’s house. I ran to the door, but before I could even knock it flew open. Angie was standing in the doorway and she let out a squeal as soon as she saw me. A second later, we were hugging as if we hadn’t seen each other in years rather than weeks. I heard Uncle Gerry chuckling behind me.

            “Oh thank Merlin you’re here,” Angie said, finally releasing me. “I’ve been bored out of my mind.”

            “Ready to go?” I asked her with a grin.

            “Yes, please!”

She turned and grabbed her school trunk and headed out of the house.

            “Er, Ang? Shouldn’t you say goodbye to your parents?” I asked.

            “Nah, I said my goodbyes to them this morning. They’re both gone at work now,” she said sadly. Her parents worked a lot, and they left her alone too often.

            “Right,” I said uncomfortably. “Let’s get going then!”

            “Hello Uncle Gerry!” Angie said, greeting my uncle.

            “Hey there Angie! You look well,” Uncle Gerry said, giving her a hug.

            “I am! I just got a new broom! The Comet 320,“ Angie said excitedly.

            “Is that right?” Uncle Gerry said, a glint of enthusiasm in his eyes. “Well the Comet—“

            “Okay we can talk about brooms when we get back,” I interrupted, knowing that he could go on for hours when he got to talking about brooms. Yeah, I guess it runs in the family.

            “Right,” Uncle Gerry agreed.

            He took Angie first, then came back and got me, then went back for Angie’s stuff.

            “I tell ya, I’ll be glad when you’ve passed your Apparition Test,” grumbled Uncle Gerry when he finally reappeared in our living room with Angie’s trunk.

            “So will I,” I agreed. “Just gotta make it till the Christmas holiday.”

            “Is that it?” Uncle Gerry asked, his eyes wide with shock. “Blimey, you’re growing like a weed! Nearly of age and everything!”

He looked at Angelina, suddenly serious. “You better watch this one this term for me. Can’t have any ruddy boys messing around with my niece, fillin her head with nonsense.”

            “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on her for you,” Angie said, smirking in my direction.

           "You sound like Molly," I groaned, rolling my eyes at my uncle. I grabbed Angie's arm and pulled her towards my room. "Oookay, we'll see you later. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

            She was still chuckling when I closed the door behind us.

            “So. Should I pick up a Beater’s Club while we’re at Diagon Alley? You know to beat the blokes away with?” Angie asked, with a grin.

            “Oh shut up,” I groaned. “That would be a waste of money. I repel them naturally.”

            “True,” Angelina agreed, causing me to throw a pillow in her direction which ended up with both of us giggling stupidly on the floor.

            “Oh I’ve missed you,” I said in between giggles.

            “Same,” she agreed.

We caught up on our summers. I told her about my trip, she told me about how boring her summer was, though I noticed she talked quite a bit about Fred. Apparently he had been sending her letters nearly every day over the summer. Then we started discussing the Quidditch World Cup which was set to begin in the next couple of days. We were both incredibly excited, though not nearly as excited as Uncle Gerry who had caught a few words of what we were discussing through the crack in my door and had burst in, eager to discuss the match with fellow Ireland lovers. Angelina and I had burst into fits of giggles at his enthusiasm, but we had indulged him and sat discussing the upcoming match late into the night.

The next day Angelina and I decided to go to Diagon Alley to get our school supplies before the match. We didn’t know if we would have time after the match. The last World Cup lasted 3 weeks after all.

“Should we invite the twins?” Angelina asked me as I brushed my hair into a long braid.

“Eager to see Freddie are we?” I asked her with a wink.

“What? No! I just thought it could be fun…with the four of us…” she mumbled, her cheeks turning pink.

“It’s alright Ang,” I said laughing. “Sure we can invite them. I’m sure Molly would be glad to be rid of them for a few hours.”

I strode over to my desk and wrote out a quick note.

_Freddie and Georgie,_

_Angelina and I are paying a visit to Diagon Alley today. Want to come? We can all go by Floo Powder._

_Love,_

_Ellie_

I tied the note around Artemis’s leg and she was off. It wasn’t a long flight for her, just to the other side of the hill and she was quite used to it by now. I had spent many restless nights in my youth communicating via owl with the twins. It wasn’t long before we had our reply.

 

_Ellie and Angie,_

_Yes, we would love for a chance to get out of this house. It took some convincing, but Mum said we can go. Come on over when you’re ready._

_Love,_

_Forge and Gred_

_P.S. Don’t breath a word about Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes to Mum or she’ll explode._

“Well that takes care of that then,” I said, handing the note over to Angelina.

“What are Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?” she asked.

“Joke stuff the twins have invented. Oh, if they offer you any sweets, DO NOT take it,” I told her.

“Please,” she scoffed. “I learned years ago not to take anything the twins offer me.”

Laughing, we stepped out into the living room. We strode over to the fireplace and each took a scoop of Floo Powder from the little pot on the mantle piece.

“You first,” Angie urged me.

I threw the powder into the fireplace and quickly stepped into the emerald flames.

“The Burrow!” I shouted, and I was whisked away in a whirlwind of green flames until I was standing in the Weasley’s fireplace.

Stepping out, I found Fred and George already waiting for me in their living room. A second later, the flames appeared again and Angelina was stepping out of the fireplace.

“Angelina! My, you’re more beautiful every time I see you, you fox,” Fred said, moving to embrace her.

“Laying it on a little thick aren’t we Fred?” I laughed from beside George, earning a chuckle from him.

“It’s nice to see you both,” Angelina said, going red in the face. “Been keeping out of trouble?”

“Well you know us,” George shrugged. “Life isn’t any fun without a bit of chaos.”

“Speaking of chaos, we should get going before Mum sees us,” Fred said, suddenly eager.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well....we’ve got some products on us and we don’t want her to confiscate them,” Fred supplied in a low voice.

“We’re hoping to sell some in Diagon Alley,” George told me in a whisper.

“Right,” I said quickly. “Well let’s get going then.”

Angelina went first, followed by Fred, followed by me, and George brought up the rear. A few minutes later, we were all standing on the busy cobblestone street.

We went to Gringotts first to get some coin out of mine and Angelina’s vaults. Then we strode up the road, collecting our supplies as we went along. Fred and George didn’t get their school things. They told us Molly was planning on shopping for the Weasley lot while we were at the Cup. We talked a lot about the Cup as we walked along. Fred and George were as excited for it as we were. They had top box seats, just like we did. Uncle Gerry was in good with the makers of the Firebolt (the sponser of the Ireland team) and he had gotten us prime seats in the top box with the Minister of Magic himself. So it seemed we would all be watching the match together.

“What do you reckon we need dress robes for?” I asked, as we made our way to Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions.

“Dunno,” George replied. “Luckily, we were able to borrow a set from Bill and Charlie. I suppose Mum will have to buy Ron and Ginny their own sets.”

“Oh I do hope she buys Ron a maroon set,” Fred said wickedly.

 

We stopped in Quality Quidditch Supplies so that I could get a new pair of Chaser’s gloves. While I was selecting a pair, Fred and Angelina wandered off across the shop to look at Beater’s bats. George stayed with me, so I used the opportunity to talk to him about something that had been on my mind.

“So how much do you want to bet that this is the year Freddie and Angie get together?” I asked, careful to keep my voice quiet.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about that as well,” George replied, glancing at his brother. “I definitely think if it happens, it will be this year.”

“I bet it will happen before Christmas,” I said thoughtfully.

“I dunno. I think it might be a little after that,” he replied.

“Want to wager on that? Say, 5 Galleons?” I asked him with a grin.

“Make it 10,” he replied, smiling down at me.

“You’re on,” I said, taking his hand shaking it.

“What are you two plotting?” Angelina asked suspiciously as she made her way towards us.

“Just discussing the Cup,” I said quickly, my face the image of innocence.

“Right,” Angie said dryly. “Well come on then.”

            Shooting each other a secret grin, George and I followed Angie out of the shop. We continued making our way down the street. Occasionally we would run into a few of our schoolmates. Fred and George managed to sell a couple of fake wands to some second years.

 

            After our shopping was completed, the twins drug us down the street to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. They wanted to get an idea for pricing their merchandise. While the twins were busy discussing the price of dung bombs and Dr. Filibuster’s No-Heat-Wet-Start Fireworks, I meandered over towards the potions that were displayed in a large glass case.

There were potions to cause all sorts of mayhem. There was a selection of different potions you slipped into your friend’s shampoo bottle to turn their hair different neon colors. Another vial contained a potion you slip in someone’s drink and they would have to go around singing everything they wanted to say for hours. Another section of the case displayed various sorts of love potions.

“Who are you trying to poison?” Angelina asked me when she noticed where I had gotten off to.

“I was thinking about turning Professor Snape’s hair a lovely shade of magenta, but then I remembered how greasy his hair is….the slimeball doesn’t even use shampoo. Ah well,” I said with a dramatic sigh.

“Don’t you start getting into trouble this year,” Angie warned. “We can’t have you missing practices because you got yourself a detention. It’s bad enough with the twins constantly getting into trouble.”

“Not to worry, mate. Unlike Fred and George, I am a master in the art of not getting caught,” I said waving my hand with a flourish.

            Angie rolled her eyes down at me.

            “Maybe you should just stick with a nice love potion,” she suggested. “A boyfriend ought to keep you nice and preoccupied and you’d be less likely to get into trouble.”

            “Oh yeah, a drugged up bloke who is only attracted to me because of a spiked glass of pumpkin juice sounds really appealing,” I scoffed.

            “Well, I know one bloke who doesn't need a love potion to find you attractive,” she said in a teasing voice.

            “Oh yeah? Who?” I asked surprised.

            “All finished!” Fred interrupted, startling the pair of us. “Shall we go?”

            “Yeah,” I said, shooting Angelina a confused look. “But I should stop by the shop real quick before we head back.”

            “Well come on then,” he said ushering us out of the shop.

            None of them had to ask which shop I was referring to. I led them a few doors down into my Granddad’s wand shop. Granddad was busy with a first year when we entered so we waited in the corner of the shop until the first year left with his newly purchased wand.

            “Ellie! I was hoping you’d pop in,” Granddad said, smiling across the counter. He looked over towards the twins. “Nice to see you boys again. Keeping well, I trust?”

            “Yes sir,” George replied. “And you?”

            “Excellent, excellent,” Granddad said with a smile before turning back to me. “You got all your school things, then?”

            “Yep. Got the lot here,” I said holding up my shopping bags. “How’s business?”

            “Busy as ever,” he replied happily. “The closer it gets to the start of term, the busier we get. Of course your Uncle left the shop in complete disarray, but I managed to get everything in order.”

            “Let me know if you need me to come and help you,” I said. “You know I don’t mind.”

            “Not to worry, darling. I can manage everything here. You just focus on managing your Uncle while you’re at the Cup,” he said flashing me and Angelina a wink.

            We said goodbye shortly after that, and made our way back to the grate. In a flurry of green flames, we were back at the Burrow. Hermione had turned up while we were gone, and she greeted us when we popped back into the living room. I had always gotten on well with Hermione, and we spent a while chatting and catching up. Then, Molly convinced Angie and I to stay for dinner, so it was growing quite late by the time we said goodbye and Floo’d back to my living room.

            Once Angie and I returned to my room, we went ahead and started packing our trunks for school.

            “Freddie seemed to really enjoy your company today,” I said suggestively as I packed my brass scales into my trunk.

            “Please,” she scoffed. “He’s like that with everyone.”

            “Is not. He really fancies you Angie,” I replied. “When are you going to admit that you fancy him too?”

            “Do not,” she said, though her cheeks were rather pink. “Besides, Fred hasn’t even asked me out, so I don’t have to admit to anything.”

            “Fine, be stubborn,” I said. “But when he does ask you out, get ready for the biggest ‘I told you so’ moment you’ve ever seen.”

            “Fair enough,” she said, grinning. “Since we’re on the subject of boys….what do you think about George?”

            “What do you mean what do I think of him?” I asked, turning to face her. “He’s one of my best mates.”

            “I mean besides than that,” she said impatiently. “Don’t you think he’s cute?”

            “Well sure, he’s a good looking bloke,” I said slowly. “The height thing really helps too…but I don’t get where you’re going with this… Are you asking if I fancy George?”

            “Maybe,” she replied slyly.

            “Of course not,” I scoffed. “That was years ago, you know that.”

            I had admittedly had a crush on George during our first year at Hogwarts, but come on. I was eleven. I didn’t know what I was thinking. Since then, he had become one of my closest friends and I had put any ideas of fancying him out of my mind. Angelina knew of this, but was sworn to a lifetime of secrecy.

            “Just wondering if any of those feelings were still there,” she shrugged.

            “Angie, what have you heard?” I asked, narrowing my eyes dangerously at her.

            “Nothing, really,” she said slowly. “I just noticed some things today…”

            “What things?” I asked.

            “Well,” she began slowly. “He just kept kind of staring at you, didn’t he?”

            “Did he?” I asked, oblivious.

            “Well yeah,” she replied. “And the look on his face…well it looked like he was checking you out…quite a bit actually.”

            “Come off it,” I said, beginning to laugh. “George doesn’t fancy me. You’re seeing things, mate.”

            “If you say so,” she shrugged. “But I know what I saw, and I definitely think there’s something there.”

            “You’re barking,” I said, still laughing at the idea.


	4. The World Cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A HUGE thanks to everyone who has read and commented and left kudos on this story!

The World Cup

 

“Oh this bloody hill will be the death of me!” I panted, gasping for breath.

“Nearly there! Come on Ellie!” Angelina said encouragingly from several feet above me.

“Oh keep your knickers on. I haven’t got your long legs,” I huffed.

Finally, I made it to the top of the hill. I collapsed in a heap as soon as my feet found even ground.

“You’re pathetic,” Angie laughed, standing over me.

“The sun isn’t even properly awake,” I groaned. “Why should I be?”

“Because it’s the World Cup!” Uncle Gerry said enthusiastically. “Definitely worth waking up early for!”

“True,” I agreed. “So where is the Portkey?”

“Dunno,” Uncle Gerry replied. “Better start lookin’ for it. It’s supposed to be a shoe of some kind.”

“Up you get,” Angie said helping me to my feet. “Let’s look around.”

We had been looking for just a few minutes, when a pair of figures came into view in the dim light.

“Hello there!” a man’s voice called. “We’ve got it over here!”

“Mornin’ Amos!” Uncle Gerry called back, coming over to greet the pair.

Amos Diggory and his son Cedric were standing beside a very worn looking boot. Cedric flashed Angelina and I a wide smile, causing us to grin back. Sure, he had beat us last year at Quidditch, but oh that boy was cute…VERY cute.

“Heya Cedric,” I said, going over to shake his hand. “How was your summer?”

“Not bad,” he replied. “Yours?”

“Excellent,” I said. “Traveled abroad with my Granddad.”

“Morning, Ced,” Angelina said smiling at him. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Angelina,” he replied flashing her a grin.

The two of them instantly broke into a conversation about Quidditch. Normally, I would have engaged as well, but I was too bloody tired to talk about the logistics of the upcoming match and the tactics of the Ireland Chasers.

“Is that Arthur?” Amos asked suddenly, looking across the hill towards the rising sun.

“Yeah, that’s the Weasley’s alright,” I said turning and seeing several redheads glinting in the distance.

“Over here, Arthur! Over here son, we’ve got it!” Mr. Diggory yelled out, waving his hands over his head.

The Weasleys, accompanied by Harry Potter and Hermione, all trudged over to us.

Mr. Weasley strode forward to clasp a hand around Mr. Diggory’s, then Uncle Gerry’s.

“Morning Arthur!” Uncle Gerry said jovially. “Good to see you again, old chap!”

“Gerry! Glad you could make it!” he said, beaming at my uncle.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Uncle Gerry chuckled. “Worth every Galleon!”

“Looks like we got off easy, Gerry,” Mr. Diggory commented, looking around at all the Weasleys, plus Harry and Hermione. “These all yours Arthur?”

“Oh no, just the redheads. This is Amos Diggory, everyone,” Mr. Weasley directed towards his lot. “He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?”

At this, everyone said hello to Ced…everyone except Fred and George who merely nodded at him. I knew they were still bitter over that last Quidditch match. I shook my heads at them exasperatedly at them as I made my way over.

“Alright there Harry?” I said, grinning at the younger boy who somehow managed to grow taller than me over the summer.

“Not bad,” he replied, shooting a grin at me. We always did get along pretty well. “You?”

“Can’t complain,” I replied before letting out a huge yawn. Harry waved a greeting over at Angie, who was still standing close by Cedric.

“Aww, is ickle Ellie a bit sweepy?” Fred asked in a mocking voice, pinching my cheeks.

“Get off you git,” I snapped, slapping his hands away from me.

“My, my! Someone is a grumpy ghoul this morning! Let me guess,” George started. “Up all night fantasizing about us?”

“Yeah,” I replied quickly. “Fantasizing about turning you two into a pair of flobberworms.”

Harry and I shared a laugh just before Mr. Diggory started freaking out about Harry. I noticed Harry looked uncomfortable as the older man gawked at the lightening scar on his forehead. The poor kid was always getting gawked at.

“Ced’s talked about you, of course,” said Mr. Diggory. “Told us all about playing against you last year… I said to him, I said – Ced, that’ll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will…. You beat Harry Potter!”

At these words, Fred and George broke out into identical scowls, glaring in Cedric’s direction. I stared at Ced too, my eyebrows high. Cedric returned my gaze with an apologetic sort of embarrassed look.

“Harry fell off his broom, Dad,” Cedric muttered to his father. “I told you it was an accident…”

“Yes, but you didn’t fall off did you?” Mr. Diggory roared with delight, clapping Cedric on the back. “Always modest, our Ced, always the gentleman… but the best man won, I’m sure Harry’d say the same, wouldn’t you, eh? One falls off his broom, one stays on, you don’t need to be a genius to tell which one’s the better flier!”

I looked over at Harry and rolled my eyes. He grinned appreciatively.

“That smarmy git,” Fred muttered darkly. “What’s Angie doing over there by Diggory anyways?”

“They were talking about Quidditch strategies,” I said shrugging. “And Ced isn’t so bad.”

“Don’t tell me you fancy him as well!” George groaned, giving me a scathing look.

“I don’t fancy Cedric,” I replied, rolling my eyes again. “I just said he isn’t so bad. He’s always been quite nice to me.”

“Yeah that’s because you’re…” George began, but stopped dead looking uncomfortable.

“I’m what, George? Just exactly how were you going to finish that sentence?” I asked warningly.

“Nevermind,” George shook his head.

I opened my mouth to demand to know what he was about to call me, but Mr. Weasley interrupted me.

“Must be nearly time,” he said, checking his watch. “Are we waiting for anyone else?”

“No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn’t get tickets,” said Mr. Diggory. “Is Garrick not coming?”

“Nah,” I replied. “Granddad is running the shop, and he’s not all that into Quidditch to be honest.”

“Luckily Ellie inherited her love for all things Quidditch from me,” Uncle Gerry said beaming at me.

“Right then, off we go!” Mr. Diggory called happily.

We all moved to stand a little closer around the manky old boot, each of us putting a finger on it.

“Three….two….one!” Mr. Weasley counted down.

Instantly, we were all swept away in a swirly howl of wind and color. I gritted my teeth and waited for it to pass. I always hated traveling by Portkey.

Finally, after what felt like forever, I felt myself slowing and I landed hard on something lumpy.

“Ooof,” George huffed from underneath me.

I looked down to see I had landed right on George, who was sprawled out on his back.

“Sorry Georgie,” I said, slight blush reaching my cheeks when I saw the intimate way I had landed on top of him.

“S’okay,” he muttered, going slightly pink himself.

“Get a room, you two!” Fred called from beside Angelina.

I scrambled quickly to get off George, my face flaming. Angelina laughed.

“Shut it,” I huffed.

We all trudged along through a misty moor until we reached the camp manager. I refused to meet George’s eyes the entire way. Angelina kept chuckling quietly beside me. After a few minutes of Mr. Weasley struggling to pay the manager in Muggle money, we all set off for our campsites.

“Looks like we’re just a couple of rows over,” Uncle Gerry told Mr. Weasley. “We’ll go set up our stuff and catch up with you later alright, Arthur?”

“See you in a bit then!” I called to the twins, still refusing to meet George’s eyes.

“Bye!” they called back.

Angelina and I followed Uncle Gerry a few rows down until we saw a space with a wooden sign that said “Olivander”.

“Right then,” Uncle Gerry said, sliding his large backpack from his shoulders. “Time to set up the tent.”

He looked around swiftly.

“Looks like no one is watching,” he muttered. “If you girls won’t tell, I’d rather save us some time and uh… do this the easy way.”

“Your secret is safe with us, Uncle Gerry,” Angelina said with a grin.

“Good girl,” he replied.

He waved his wand, and a second later a large tent was erected. I noticed it came with a chimney attached to it. Angelina and I shared a grin. We were supposed to be incognito, and our tent wasn’t the only one around that would raise Muggle suspicions.

Nevertheless, we went inside to find a large flat, complete with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a large kitchen and sitting area. Angelina and I picked out our rooms and set our stuff inside it.

“Alright, well I have to pop out for a bit. Got some promoting to do, you know,” Uncle Gerry said. “Will you two be alright on your own for a while?”

“We’ll be fine,” I said quickly. “We were gonna go explore a bit. Find some of our mates. I think Oliver is around here somewhere.”

“Okay then,” he said, planting a kiss on my forehead. “You two be good, and don’t spend all your money!”

“We’ll try not to,” I said flashing him a mischievous grin.

He chuckled, then left the tent.

“So,” Angelina began. “Shall we go and find Ollie?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, and we set out through the campsite.

“So I couldn’t help but notice how red you got earlier…you know when you were straddling George,” Angelina said nudging me with her elbow.

“You’d blush too if you were straddling him,” I said.

“No, I’d probably laugh,” she replied with a grin.

“What about if you were straddling Fred?” I asked.

Her smile vanished, and I smiled satisfactorily.

“Oh shut up,” she teased.

She let the subject drop as we began to run into a few friends from school. Katie Bell, another Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team found us and gave us a hug before she had to rush back to her little brother who was scooting around on a toy broomstick. A few tents down, we saw a few boys that were in Harry and Ron’s year. We waved at the lot. Finally, we ran into Oliver Wood.

“Oy! Angelina! Ellie!” he called out to us, waving us over to his tent.

“Ollie!” I cried, running up to him and embracing him in a tight hug.

“I was wondering when you two would turn up!” he cried happily, embracing Angelina next.

“We just arrived. Uncle Gerry managed to get us Top Box tickets,” I said excitedly.

“Wow! Top Box? You’ll have an excellent view up there,” he said impressed. “We’ve been here nearly a week.”

“So what have you been up to Ollie?” Angelina asked furtively.

“Well… guess what!?” Oliver said, barely containing his excitement. “I’ve been signed!”

“What!?” I gasped. “By who?”

“Puddlmere United,” Oliver said beaming. “I’m their new Keeper.”

“Congratulations Oliver!” Angelina cried. “You’re playing for the pros now!”

“Well, they’re a lower league team, but it’s a start!” he replied.

We chatted with him for a few more minutes before we decided to head back. Oliver promised he’d send us tickets to his matches when he could. As we were walking back towards the Weasley’s tent, someone shouted my name.

“Hey Ellie!”

It was Roger Davies, a rather attractive Chaser on the Ravenclaw team. We had never really had a lengthy conversation, but I had always had a bit of a crush on him.

“Oh, hello Roger,” I said surprised.

“Angelina,” he said, nodding at her. She nodded back, but he was looking at me again.

“Have a good summer?” he asked, grinning at me.

“Er, not bad,” I said, wondering why I was blushing so much today. “You?”

“Yeah, it was good,” he said. “You supporting Ireland?”

“Of course,” I replied. “They have the best Chasers in the league.”

“Definitely,” he said nodding his head. “Although Bulgaria’s got Krum.”

“Krum isn’t enough to beat Ireland’s Chaser’s though,” I said shaking my head.

“Let’s hope not,” he replied. “You play very well by the way. That last match, you were amazing.”

“Oh…um thanks,” I said, trying to keep my face from going red. “You’re a good Chaser too.”

“Thanks,” he said flashing me a smile. “I wouldn’t mind learning some new moves though. Like that awesome swoop you did last term, where you threw the Quaffle in and managed to avoid that bludger? That was some impressive flying.”

“Oh… yeah George taught me that move,” I said, grinning at the memory.

“Maybe you could teach me sometime?” he suggested.

“Oh.. yeah. Sure,” I said, wishing I could say something a bit more interesting.

“I’ll hold you to it,” he promised, shooting me a wink. “I gotta go. See you in a few weeks then.”

“Right,” I replied. “See you at school.”

He flashed me one more grin and left. I stared after him a few seconds before I turned back to Angie.

“Ummm…….what just happened?” I asked her.

“Roger Davies fancies you, that’s what happened!” Angie said with a wide smile. “He was completely flirting with you!”

“Merlin’s beard,” I breathed. “I didn’t think he knew I existed.”

“You heard him. He liked your flying last match,” Angie said with a wink. “And it doesn’t help that you’ve gone up a cup size.”

“And here I thought you hadn’t noticed,” I said faking flattery. I looked down towards my chest. “Maybe these things have some use after all.”

Angelina was still laughing as we approached the Weasley’s campsite.

“What are you cackling about?” Fred asked as we sat down beside them near the fire.

“Oh nothing,” Angie said casually. “Just Roger Davies making moves at Ellie.”

“What?” George asked surprised.

“Gee, thanks Angie,” I muttered before turning to George. “It’s nothing, we just ran into Roger Davies on the way over.”

“Yeah and he totally flirted with her. It was hilarious,” Angelina said still chuckling.

“Whatever,” I said casually, my face feeling hot. “Someone must have Confunded him.”

“Yeah, who would ever be attracted to a midget like you?” Fred said sniggering.

I replied by smiling sweetly and hitting him around the back of the head.

“Aha!” Mr. Weasley suddenly shouted, climbing to his feet. “The man of the moment! Ludo!”

“Ahoy there!” Ludo Bagman called, bouncing towards us.

“Arthur old man! What a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming… and hardly a hiccup in the arrangements…Not much for me to do!”

“He must be missing the turrets and chimneys on nearly every tent,” I muttered, taking a piece of toast from George’s plate.

Percy strode forwards eagerly to shake Bagman’s hand. Fred and I shared a grin at Percy’s enthusiasm. George was staring into his plate, frowning.

“Ah – yes,” Mr. Weasley said. “This is my son Percy. He’s just started at the Ministry – and his is Fred, er, no George.”

Mr. Weasley sent me a thankful look when I had shook my head to correct him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley always looked to me to confirm which of the twins was which. Somehow, I never had trouble telling them apart.

“That’s Fred, Fred and George’s friends Ellie Olivander and Angelina Johnson, Bill, Charlie, Ron, my daughter Ginny, and Ron’s friends Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.”

Bagman beamed around at us all happily, lingering on Harry’s scar.

“Everyone,” Mr. Weasley continued, “this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it’s thanks to him we got such good tickets!”

“Fancy a flutter on the match?” he asked around eagerly.

Angelina and I looked at Fred and George, knowing they wouldn’t pass up a chance to earn some gold.  
            “What do you reckon?” Angelina asked.

“Ireland to win, definitely,” I said.

“Ireland to win, but Bulgaria gets the snitch,” Fred said.

“We’ve got 37 Galleons, 15 sickles, 3 Knuts,” George told his brother, quickly counting their money.

“You sure about this?” I asked. “That’s a tough wager.”

“I’ve got a good feeling about the match,” George said with a grin. “Let’s do it.”

“We’ll bet 37 Galleons, 15 Sickles, and 3 Knuts that Ireland wins, but Krum gets the Snitch,” Fred called. “Oh, and we’ll throw in a fake wand.”

“You don’t want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that,” Percy began, but Bagman laughed heartily when the wand turned into a rubber chicken in his hand.

“Excellent! I haven’t seen one that convincing in years! I’d pay 5 Galleons for that!” he roared in delight.

“Boys,” Mr. Weasley began in an exasperated voice. “I don’t want you betting. That’s all your savings… Your mother-“

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Arthur!” Bagman boomed excitedly. “They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance....I'll give you excellent odds on that one....We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we...."

“Cheers,” said George, tucking the receipt for the bet in the front of his robes.

“You two are completely bonkers,” Angie said, shaking her head at the pair of them. “Betting all your savings? Risky move there.”

“What’s life without a bit of risk?” Fred asked, winking at Angie who blushed.

“Get a room you two,” I teased, failing to stifle a huge yawn.

“Here, have some tea,” George said, passing me his cup. “You look dead on your feet.”

“Thanks, Georgie,” I said, taking the cup from him. “You’re a life saver.”

Suddenly, a stern looking man came over to the campsite. Bagman introduced him as Barty Crouch. Instantly, Percy hopped to his feet, smoothing his hair.

“Mr. Crouch!” Percy exclaimed breathlessly, sinking a half bow. “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Oh, yes, thank you Weatherby,” Mr. Crouch said, surprised to see Percy.

Fred George, and even Angie erupted into sniggers and I choked into my cup of tea. George patted me hard on the back as I continued to sputter, gasping for breath.

“I expect you’ll both be glad when this is over?” I heard Mr. Weasley say, once I could breath properly.

“Glad? Don’t know when I’ve had more fun!” Bagman said surprised. “Still… it’s not as though we haven’t got anything to look forward to, eh, Barty? Eh? Plenty left to organize, eh?”

“We agreed not to make the announcement until all the details –“ Mr. Crouch began.

“Oh details!” Bagman interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. “They’ve signed haven’t they? They’ve agreed, haven’t they? I bet you anything these kids’ll know soon enough anyway. I mean, it’s happening at Hogwarts –“

“Ludo, we need to meet the Bulgarians, you know,” Mr. Crouch cut in sharply. “Thank you for the tea, Weatherby.”

“See you all later!” Bagman said jovially. “You’ll be up in the top box with me! I’ll be commentating!”

The two men disapparated.

“What’s happening at Hogwarts, Dad?” Fred asked at once. “What were they talking about?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Mr. Weasley said, grinning secretively.

“It’s classified information, until such time as the Ministry decides to release it,” Percy sniffed. “Mr. Crouch was quite right not to disclose it.”

“Oh shut up, Weatherby,” said Fred, causing me to choke again into my cup of tea.

 

The afternoon wore on too slowly for my taste, though we were all able to find something to occupy us. I played a game of Exploding Snap with Ginny, losing miserably when it exploded loudly in my hands.

Soon, the salesmen appeared. They Apparated every few feet, shouting loudly about the products they had on offer. Angie bought herself a bright green scarf with little pictures of shamrocks that zoomed around merrily. I purchased a shamrock hair clip that shimmered whenever I moved. I wasted no time in pinning it in my hair.

Fred and Angie were busy examining several flags that flashed different messages when you waved them, so I strode up behind George who was staring longingly at a cart of Omnioculars.

“Should have saved a bit of gold for one of these,” he said grudgingly.

“I could get you one,” I suggested, knowing what his answer would be.

“No way, they’re much too expensive,” he said shaking his head. “Ah, well. I reckon we’ll have an excellent view from the top box.”

He grinned, looking at the shimmering shamrock in my hair then moved to join his brother. The Weasley’s were some of the nicest people I had ever met, but having so many family members meant that their funds were tight. I had offered to purchase many things for the twins over the years, but their pride prevented me from getting them anything, excluding holidays of course.

I don’t know why I did it…Maybe it was the sad forlorn look George had in his eyes when he stared at the Omnioculars. Maybe it was because he had saved me twice that day from drowning into my tea. For whatever reason, I snuck some gold out of my bag and slid it to the salesman. Shoving the Omnioculars into my bag, I rejoined them.

My Uncle turned up right as a loud gong sounded across the camp, signaling that it was time to head towards the stadium.

“Had a productive day?” I asked my Uncle as we made our way into the lantern lit woods.

“Booming!” he said happily. “Made several new potential investors!”

“Any word from the Department of Magical Transportation on the new line of WindSweeps?” Mr. Weasley asked my Uncle.

“Still waiting on them to give us the proper permits to start selling internationally,” Uncle Gerry replied, and the two of them got started on a long and boring conversation about Ministry guidelines and regulations on mass producing broomsticks.

Finally, we reached the stadium. It rose like a giant golden beacon in the night sky. They began climbing the purple carpeted staircase, higher and higher. Gasping, and clutching at a stitch in my side, I finally reached the top.

“Too much bloody climbing for one day,” I panted, making my Uncle chuckle appreciatively and Angie to roll her eyes at me.

Uncle Gerry sat next to Mr. Weasley at one end of the box, while Angie and I made our way to the end of the row. She sat beside me on my left and George took the seat on my right, leaving Fred to sit beside his twin.

“What a view!” Angie said looking around.

“Must be a hundred thousand people here!” I said, my eyes wide.

“Remind me to thank your Uncle again later,” Angie said. “I can’t believe we’re in the top box!”

“I can’t believe that Alicia is missing this for lousy old France,” I said, mentioning our fellow 6th year friend who had been whisked away on holiday by her parents.

“We’ll have to get her a souvenir after,” Angie said nodding.

“Oh yeah,” I said. “That reminds me.”

I dug around in my bag for a second before pulling out the Omnioculars. I nudged George on the shoulder, breaking his attention from the conversation he was having with his twin.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Here you go,” I said, handing him the Omnioculars. “Share them with your brother mind you, or he’ll figure out that you’re my favorite.”

“Woah Ellie… I told you, I can’t take this,” he said, his eyes going wide as he stared at the Omnioculars.

“Well you better take it. I’ve already bought it and I certainly don’t want it,” I said grinning. “Oh go on Georgie. I know you wanted them.”

“Why did you…” he began, unsure of how to end his sentence.

“Can’t a girl buy her friend a gift?” I said shrugging.

“Thank you….really Ellie. This is amazing of you,” he said, a strange softness in his brown eyes.

“Don’t mention it,” I said waving him away.

 

The box filled slowly around us, all with important sort of Ministry officials. Finally, it was time to begin the match. Bagman started by introducing the Bulgarian Team Mascots. A crowd of Veela marched onto the field, dancing seductively. Angelina and I shared a look of disgust. Harry, Ron, Fred and George were staring down at the Veela with a dazed look in their eyes. Angie leaned over and slapped Fred hard around the back of the head. He looked around at us, grinning sheepishly as we laughed at him. George shook his head, as if he were trying to clear his mind.

Soon the Bulgarian team were flying around the field, and a roar from the Bulgarian supporters met our ears. The Irish Mascots were introduced after that. A green wave of leprechauns soared over the crowd, littering us all with shiny gold coins. People scrambled all around trying to get their hands on the gold.

“There’s no point,” I called into George’s ear as he scrambled under his chair. “Leprechaun gold disappears after a couple hours.”

“Damn, I was going to pay you back. Guess I’ll have to wait until after we win the bet,” he said.

“Seriously George. You don’t have to worry about it,” I told him shaking my head.

He opened his mouth to argue, but the deafening support from the Irish drowned out his words. The Irish Team was flying around the field.

The next hour or so passed in a flurry screaming and jumping up and down in excitement. It was the best match of Quidditch I had ever seen. The players were unbelievable, even the Bulgarians, but unfortunately for them, they were no match for Troy, Mullet, and Moran.

“WE WON!!” Fred and George shouted in unison.

“You won!” I cried, throwing my arms around the pair of them.

“IRELAND WON!” Angie shouted, jumping up and down, waving her scarf in the air.

After a few more minutes of jumping up and down in celebration, Fred and George clambered over the seats towards Bagman to collect their winnings. They made their way back to us, grinning broadly as they held up their rather large sack of gold.

George opened the sack and retracted a few Galleons. Sensing what he was about to do, I shook my head.

“George, I swear if you try to pay me, I’ll hex you first thing when we get back to school,” I warned him.

He looked warily at me for a second, considering his options. He grinned and nodded, deciding it was better to stay on my good side.

“You’re wonderful, do you know that? Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise,” he said before kissing me softly on top of my head.

My face burned in embarrassment and my stomach twisted in an odd sort of way.

“I think that gold has gone to your head,” I said, shoving him playfully. “You’re mental.”

“Maybe I am,” he laughed.


	5. The Death Eaters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WONDERFUL FEEDBACK!!  
> I love hearing your thoughts, comments, questions, concerns, etc!  
> It really helps me and makes me feel all warm and tingly inside :P  
> Cheers!

We celebrated late into the night. Gerry, Angie and I all spent several hours in the Weasley’s tent, going over the match and singing the Irish National song. We danced and laughed and had a great time basking in the success of the match. Only when Ginny fell asleep at the table, spilling hot chocolate all down her front, did we decide to head back to our own tent and get ready for bed. I had fallen asleep before my head hit the pillow.

I had a very bizarre dream. Angie was standing by the lake at school, telling me I had to swim to the little island in the middle of it. She told me that Roger Davis was waiting on me there. I told her I didn’t want to swim all the way across the lake, that Roger was stupid for making me go that far. Then she told me that George was waiting for me too, so I sighed and began to swim. I swam and swam but the island never got closer. No matter how far I went, it stayed off in the distance. Eventually, my muscles cramped up and I began to sink down in depths of the water…

“Ellie! Get up! Quick!” my Uncle’s voice said from above me. He was shaking me awake by my shoulders.

“Uncle Gerry? It can’t be time to leave yet,” I murmered, rubbing my eyes.

“No, but you have to get dressed. Quick!” he told me.

Suddenly, the sounds of screams and explosions reached my ears.

“What’s going on?” I asked immediately.

“Death Eaters,” he answered. “Get dressed. Now!”

He left the room to go wake up Angie. I climbed out of bed and pulled on my jeans. I had just managed to shrug on a jacket, when the sounds of screaming grew louder.

“No time,” Uncle Gerry shouted at me as I bent over to search for my shoes. He ushered me out of the tent with Angelina. I managed to snatch my wand from the table on the way. “Get to the forest and wait for the all clear there. I’m going to help the ministry!”

“But Uncle –“ I began but he cut me off.

“GO! NOW!” he shouted, and he ran straight towards the commotion.

At least 20 people in masks were marching along, hovering the Muggle campground manager and his family high in the air. From where I could see, it looked as if they were still in their pajamas.

“What the hell?” I asked loudly, my eyes going wide in shock.

“Ellie, we have to go!” Angie said tugging me towards the forest.

We took off running with the scrambling crowd trying to get away from the Death Eaters, because I knew who they were. I was far too familiar with their crowd. The ground was cold under my bare feet, but I didn’t care. I was eager to distance myself from those murdering filth.

Angie and I slowed down when we got into the forest. It was dark, so we took out our wands and lit them. We continued making our way through the trees, wanting to get away from the screaming and bangs echoing from behind us.

“Who do you reckon they were?” Angie asked, sounding scared.

“Death Eaters,” I told her. “I’d bet my life on it.”

“What were they doing at the World Cup?” she asked, her eyes going wide.

“Causing problems, wreaking havoc…you know the usual for their lot,” I said darkly.

“Do you think the Weasleys got out okay?” she asked.

“Let’s look for them, shall we?” I suggested.

We set off, searching for voices in area near us. As we walked deeper through the forest, we came upon a group of teenagers speaking in French, a few Bulgarians, and a few Veela who were surrounded by boys. Finally, the sound of familiar voices reached our ears.

“You don’t think she’s hurt do you?” George’s voice came out of the darkness. Fred, George, and Ginny were all sitting on thick tree roots, still in their pajamas.

“Nah, you know her. She can take care of herself. Both of them can,” Fred said, though there was a note of worry in his voice.

“Hope Harry and the others haven’t gone too far,” Ginny said.

“There you are,” I said, tripping over a tree root as I stumbled towards them. “Damn!”

“Ellie! Angie!” Ginny cried.

“Are you okay?” George asked, coming over to help me. “Where are your shoes?”

“Didn’t have time to put them on,” I said through gritted teeth, holding my ankle. I had twisted it quite painfully when I fell over the tree root.

“Here, let me help you,” George said. I put an arm around his shoulder and he gripped my waist. He helped me move over to where they were sitting and placed me gently beside Ginny.

“Where is everyone?” Angie asked, glancing over the three Weasleys.

“Dad, Bill, Charlie, and Percy went to help the Ministry,” Fred told her. “We lost Harry, Ron and Hermione a few minutes after we ran into the woods.”

“Looks like you twisted it pretty badly,” George said, examining my rapidly swelling ankle. “Charlie or Bill should be able to mend it, once we get back to the tent.”

“Where did your Uncle go?” Ginny asked.

“He went to help the Ministry as well,” I said. “I can’t believe the Death Eaters showed up here, in the one place that was sure to be crawling with Ministry officials.”

“What are Death Eaters?” she asked, looking scared.

“You-Know-Who’s supporters,” I told her. “It’s what they called themselves when he was in power.”

“You don’t think that he’s back?” she asked in a terrified voice.

“Nah,” I told her quickly. “Those are just the ones who avoided capture. They probably got drunk and decided to have a little reunion.”

“Hope the Ministry get some of them,” Fred said angrily. “Hope they throw them in Azkaban where they belong.”

Suddenly, a bright green light shot through the darkness. It seemed to come from deeper within the forest, and it shot straight up into the sky. There it formed a huge shape in the sky. It was a skull with a snake protruding through the mouth.

“What is that?!” Angie asked, staring up at the shape.

“Guys, we have to get back to the tent right now,” I said in a quavering voice. All the color had drained from my face as ice cold fear washed through me.

“What is it?” George asked.

“It’s the Dark Mark,” I whispered. “We have to leave. We need to get out of here, fast.”

“Alright, let’s head back to the camp,” Fred said, glancing at me with a worried expression.

I got up and tried to walk, but hissed as pain shot through my ankle.

“Here, I’ve got you,” George said.

He bent down and swept me up into his arms.

“Oy!” I protested.

“We’ll be able to get back to the camp faster if I carry you,” he said matter of factly.

“Fine,” I agreed. Anything to get away from that Mark.

We made our way through the dark woods. I held my wand up casting a beam of light in front of us while we moved. Finally, the trees started thinning out and we found the edge of the wood. I noticed that several tents were reduced to smoking piles of ash. George carried me through the entrance of their tent where we found Charlie, Bill and Percy all sitting around looking worried. Bill had a large cut in his arm, which he was holding a bedsheet against. Percy looked like he had a broken nose, and Charlie had a tear in his shirt.

“There you are!” Charlie said getting to his feet. He looked over at me, still in George’s arms. “What happened?”

“Tripped and broke her ankle,” George told his brother as he sat me down gently in a chair.

“Where are the others?” Percy asked.

“Lost them in the woods,” Fred said.

“We decided to head back here when that thing appeared in the sky,” Angie said.

“What thing?” Bill asked.

“It’s the Dark Mark, Bill,” I said in a low voice.

The three older brothers gaped at me, then in one fluid motion they all went outside to stare up at the Mark.

“I don’t understand,” Ginny said. “What is the Dark Mark.”

“It was _his_ mark,” I said, trying to ignore the pain shooting up my leg. “You-Know-Who used it whenever he killed, or when his supporters killed for him.”

“You don’t think someone…” Ginny trailed off, her eyes wide in fright.

“I don’t know, “ I told her honestly.

“Blimey,” Bill said, looking a bit scared himself as they came back inside.

“This will cause all sorts of problems at the Minsitry,” Percy said, shaking his head. “I can see the headlines now… Lack of Security at World Cup…Ministry Blunders Allows Mayhem to Endure…”

“Charlie, could you take a look at Ellie’s ankle?” George asked, interrupting his brother.

“Oh! Yeah, no problem,” Charlie said coming over to me. “Lucky for you, I’ve got a knack for mending bones. Can’t really heal deep cuts though unfortunately.”

“Thanks Charlie,” I said as he pointed his wand at my swollen ankle. Heat began to spread down my foot, and the pain vanished instantly. I stood up tentatively, and found I could put pressure on it once again.

“I’m going to keep an eye out for Dad,” Charlie said, and he stood by the entrance of the tent with his head out.

“Hope Uncle Gerry is okay,” I muttered.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Angie said patting me on the shoulder. “He’s pretty spry for his age.”

“Yeah, but he can be a bit reckless,” I said with a frown.

“He’ll be fine,” she said again.

We all stood there, lost in though for several minutes when Charlie’s voice spoke up.

“Dad! What’s going on? Fred, George, Ginny, Ellie and Angelina got back okay, but the others-“

“I’ve got them here,” Mr. Weasley said, entering the tent. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed him.

“Did you get them Dad?” Bill asked.

“No,” he said frowning.

Mr. Weasley had just sat down when Uncle Gerry burst through the tent.

“There you are!” he said striding forwards and embracing me in a tight hug. “I was so worried!”

“Where have you been?” I asked, hugging him back.

“Helping the Ministry put out fires,” he said. “Arthur, what’s going on? The Dark Mark….”

Mr. Weasley proceeded to tell us all the story about how they found Mr. Crouch’s elf holding Harry’s wand right under where the Dark Mark was cast. Hermione insisted that the elf was innocent, that it happened to be in he wrong place at the wrong time. Percy began arguing with Hermione.

“Look can anyone explain what that skull thing was?” Ron interrupted. “It wasn’t hurting anyone…. Why’s it such a big deal?”

“I told you, it’s You-Know-Who’s symbol,” Hermione said. “I read about it in the Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts.”

“And it hasn’t been seen for 13 years,” Mr. Weasley said quietly. “Of course people panicked…it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who again.”

“I don’t get it…” Ron said slowly. “I mean it’s still only a shape in the sky.”

“Ron, You-Know-Who and his followers sent that shape in the air whenever they killed,” Mr. Weasley said. “The terror it inspired…you have no idea. You’re too young.”

“It was above my house the day my parents were murdered,” I said quietly.

Silence rang through the tent as everyone looked at me. Uncle Gerry’s expression was downfallen as he too remembered.

“I was only three at the time. I was staying with my granddad that weekend. He was bringing me home when we saw that shape high above my house. I’ll never forget it. The look on Grandad’s face when he saw it… I knew something bad had happened………They murdered them, the Death Eaters, all because my Mum went and fell in love with a Muggle and had me.”

“Worst day of my life,” Uncle Gerry mumbled.

“Ellie…. I had no idea,” Fred said softly.

My friends knew I was raised by my grandfather because my parents were dead, but I had never really disclosed the nature of their deaths. I didn’t like to think about it and I never felt a need to tell them about it. With the presence of the Dark Mark in the air outside, it just seemed like the right time to tell them why I never talked about my parents.

“I don’t..I don’t like to talk about it,” I said softly, looking at the floor.

George, who was standing beside me, reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it comfortingly. I squeezed his hand back, grateful for the support.

“Well whoever conjured it tonight didn’t help,” said Bill, and I was greatful for the change of subject. “It scared the Death Eaters away as soon as the saw it. We caught the Roberts before they hit the ground though. They’re having their memory modified right now.”

Harry asked what Death Eaters were, and Mr. Weasley explained.

“We can’t prove it was them, Bill,” Mr. Weasley said frowning. “Though it probably was.”

“Yeah I’ll bet it was!” Ron said suddenly. “Dad, we met Draco Malfoy in the woods and he as good as told us that his Dad was one of those nutters in masks! And we all know the Malfoys were right in with You-Know-Who!”

“But what were Voldemort’s supporters –“ Harry began. We all flinched at the sound of the name. “Sorry. What were You-Know-Who’s supporters up to, levitating Muggles? I mean, what was the point?”

“You’ve got to understand, Harry. That was their idea of fun,” Uncle Gerry said darkly. “Most of the Muggle killings back then were done as their idea of fun.”

“I suppose they had a few drinks tonight and couldn’t resist reminding us all that lots of them are still at large. A nice little reunion for them,” Mr. Weasley finished disgustedly.

“But if they were Death Eaters, why did they Disapparate when they saw the Dark Mark?” asked Ron. “They’d have been pleased to see it, wouldn’t they?”

“Oh use your brains, Ron,” Bill scoffed. “If they really were Death Eaters, they worked very hard to keep out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who lost power, and told all sorts of lies about him forcing them to kill and torture people. I bet they’d be even more frightened than the rest of us to see him come back. They denied they’d ever been involved with him when he lost his powers, and went back to their daily lives… I don’t reckon he’d be over-pleased with them, do you?”

“So whoever conjured the Dark Mark….” Hermione said slowly. “Were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters, or to scare them away?”

“That’s the thousand Galleon question,” Uncle Gerry sighed, crossing his arms.

“I will tell you this,” Mr. Weasley said. “It was only the Death Eaters who ever knew how to conjure it. I’d be very surprised if the person who did it hadn’t been a Death Eater once, even if they’re not now… Listen, it’s very late, and if Molly hears what’s happened she’ll be worried sick. We’ll get a few more hours sleep and then try and get an early Portkey out of here.”

“I was thinking the same,” Uncle Gerry said. “Shall we share a Portkey?”

Mr. Weasley agreed, and Uncle Gerry beckoned Angie and I to follow him.

“See you tomorrow,” I told Fred and George.

“Night,” they said together. They were looking at me with a mixture of pity and worry.

Angie and I followed Uncle Gerry back to the tent.

“Hey Ellie,” Angie said softly.

“Yeah?”

“You want to share a bed tonight?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said.

Neither of us wanted to be alone that night. I was eternally grateful that she was there with me. But even with Angie’s presence in the bed next to me, I couldn’t help the thoughts of my parent's untimely demise from swirling around in my head as I drifted off towards an uneasy sleep.


	6. Back to School

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while! I'm so sorry! I forgot to update!  
> Thank you to all who have left such kind reviews and comments! You make writing worth while!  
> <3

Back to School

 

The rest of the holiday passed in a much happier manner. Angie and I spent the next week hanging around Diagon Alley or over at the Weasley’s. Fred and George challenged us to a game of Quidditch one afternoon. We agreed and though we didn’t really get around to playing Quidditch, we spent most of the day flying around the little orchard near the Burrow, laughing and throwing apples at each other, which we tried to dodge.

I threw an apple straight at Angie, and Fred gallantly soared in front of her, causing the apple to hit him straight in the head. I saw Angie blush and thank Fred graciously as he rubbed the knot forming on the back of his head. George and I laughed loudly at the two of them and how ridiculous it was they weren’t together yet.

Finally, it was time to once again depart for Hogwarts. Granddad took us to Platform 9 ¾ by side-along Apparation. Angie and I wheeled our heavy trunks through the station towards the barrier. We went one at a time to avoid earning any unwanted stares, and soon the scarlet engine came into view.

“Alright, you two be sure to behave yourselves,” Granddad said, leaning down to hug us both.

“No worries here, I’m always well behaved,” I said, grinning mischievously.

“You better be, young lady. I expect I’ll be seeing you sooner than you think, and I don’t want to hear that you’ve been causing mayhem with those Weasley boys again,” he said sternly. Angie snickered.

“What do you mean, I’ll be seeing you soon?” I asked curiously.

“You’ll find out,” he said secretively. “Probably this evening, I expect.”

“What are you not telling us?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

“Never you mind. Off you go now,” he said ushering us towards the train. “Have a good term, darling.”

Knowing it was no use trying to get it out of him, we boarded the train and found an empty compartment. We loaded our trunks and Artemis onto the luggage rack and sat down. We had arrived in plenty of time, and the train was slowly filling up with people. We began discussing what it was my granddad was talking about.

“It must be something to do with that secret event taking place at Hogwarts this year,” I said. “You know, the one Bagman let slip at the Cup?”

“I bet that’s why we had to have dress robes as well,” Angie said thoughtfully.

The compartment door opened, and our friend Katie Bell came in. She was looking a bit put out.

“Hey Katie,” I said, watching her heave her heavy trunk up. “Have a good holiday?”

“It was alright…up until about a week ago,” she said miserably, sitting down across from me.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Rory dumped me,” she said flatly.

“What?!” Angie exclaimed.

“That slimy git!” I protested.

Rory was Katie’s boyfriend. He was a 5th year boy in Hufflepuff and he had been dating Katie for nearly a year. The two had seemed quite close. I had walked in on them snogging in empty classrooms several times.

“Yeah, he sent me an owl about a week ago and said that he felt like we were growing apart and he didn’t feel that way about me anymore,” she said, tears welling in her eyes.

“Oh Katie, I’m so sorry,” I said leaning over to hug her. “He’s a stupid prat for letting someone like you get away.”

“Yeah, you’re way too good for him mate,” Angie said soothingly.

“Thanks, guys,” she said, smiling weakly. “I’ll get over it. It just…hurts you know?”

“What’s all this hugging for?” Fred asked.

Fred, George, and Lee Jordan entered the compartment, looking wary.

“Rory dumped me,” Katie said again.

“That dunghead!” Fred exclaimed.

“Want me to go curse him for you?” George offered, holding his wand out menacingly.

“Nah, he’s not worth it,” Katie said smiling weakly.

Fred nodded and sat down between Angie and Katie. George took the seat beside me and Lee sat down next to him.

“What more can you expect from a stupid prat like him. I mean, look at the contents of his wand for starters,” I said knowledgeably.

“Here she goes,” Fred said rolling his eyes at me.

“What? You can tell a lot about a person from their wands,” I told him. “For example, I know he uses a Hawthorn with a Unicorn core. Hawthorn wood has always been known to be finicky and it’s a testament to his spineless, indecisive nature. Mix that with the fluctuating and stubborn nature of the unicorn hair, and you’ve got yourself one worthless Tosser.”

“Well next time I fancy a bloke, I’ll have you inspect his wand first, alright?” Katie suggested with a grin.

“What does mine say about me?” asked Lee. He handed me his wand and I turned it over in my hand.

“Don’t encourage her,” Fred groaned.

Ignoring him, I weighed the wand in my hands.

“Let’s see…. Fir, 14 1/3 inches… dragon heartstring core?” I asked, looking up.

“It’s scary how much you sound like your grandfather right now,” George said chuckling.

“She’s right though,” Lee nodded.

“Fir indicates the user has a clear purpose and isn’t fickle. Most Fir users are strong minded and focused. The dragon heartstring can be a bit temperamental, but its powerful and can produce more flamboyant spells. Dragon heartstrings can adapt the easiest, and learn more quickly than other types,” I told him, fully aware of the loud snoring sounds Fred was making. “All in all, I say it’s a good fit for you. It shows your strong will and focus on things you care deeply about.”

“Sounds like a better match than that loser Rory,” Angie mumbled, nudging Katie. Katie blushed but grinned at her.

“Moving on to more important things,” Fred said loudly. I rolled my eyes at him. “What do you reckon is happening at Hogwarts this year?”

We spent the next couple of hours discussing and theorizing what the event could be, who would be filling in the Defense Against the Dark Arts spot, and the World Cup. When lunchtime came around, I made my way out to the corridor, eager to buy some food off the trolley. Fred and George followed, their stomachs rumbling audibly.

Knowing I would be sharing with the entire compartment, I began purchasing a rather large selection of Fizzing Whizbee’s, Chocolate Frogs, and Cauldron Cakes, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I wheeled around and found Roger Davies smiling at me.

“Oh, hello Roger,” I said, my arms full of snacks.

“Hungry, are you?” he asked chuckling at the load of food.

“Starving. But I know I’ll end up sharing most of this is with this lot,” I said nodding at my compartment of friends. I was uncomfortably aware of George listening as he and Fred picked out some Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. “How was the rest of your holiday?”

“Great. Though the World Cup turned out to be a bit crazy towards the end there. I tried to look for you in the woods, but it was so dark and everyone was running around in a panic,” Roger said with a slight frown.

“You looked for me?” I asked, surprised by his concern.

“Yeah, I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said.

“Oh…well that was nice of you,” I said grinning. “Angie and I ran into the woods and I managed to break my ankle on a tree root. Luckily, I found Fred and George and their brother Charlie was able to set it right.”

“Well, I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse,” Roger said.

“Same for you,” I told him.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to your friends. They look hungry,” Roger said.

I looked over my shoulder and saw Fred and George scowling at me. I sighed.

“Alright, see you later Roger,” I said.

I turned back to the twins who were continuing to scowl.

“What?” I asked.

“Getting smarmy with Roger Davies are we?” Fred asked, opening the compartment door to let me through. I passed the food around to everyone.

“We were just talking,” I said, cheeks a bit pink.

“Yeah, in the same way he was ‘talking’ to you at the Cup,” George spat.

“Woah, Roger was out there?” Angie asked.

“Yeah, he came over to say hello,” I told her, looking at the scowl on George’s face. “What’s wrong with Roger?”

“Nothing except he’s a dunderhead. I think a troll has more brains,” Fred laughed.

“Roger fancies you?” Katie asked, her eyes going wide.

“Yeah, he was completely flirting with her at the Cup,” Angie said giggling.

“He’s always been nice,” I said, frowning at George. I had no idea why he looked so angry.

“He’s not nice, he’s a complete pillock,” George spat. “He’s constantly throwing girls away, trading up, trying to get the best looking girl who will have him.”

            I opened my mouth to argue, but then realized George had just implied I was good looking. I closed my mouth and blinked at him. George was blushing slightly though he wasn’t looking at me.

            “He really does that though,” Lee said, nodding. “I’ve seen him at it.”

I coughed, clearing my throat uncomfortably.

            “Oh, I didn’t know. Well, thanks for warning me. I’ll tell him to piss off if he keeps at it,” I said with a shrug.

            George shot a look at me.

            “Not to worry Els,” Fred said, a smirk on his lips. “If we see that prat bothering you again, we’ll make sure he gets the point.”

            There was a hint of awkwardness in the air for the remainder of the journey. I didn’t know if George had meant to insinuate that I was attractive, or if it had just come out that way, but every time I thought about his words, it made my stomach squirm.

            Finally, we reached the station outside of Hogsmead. It was pouring rain outside and we all ran towards the carriages, holding our cloaks over our heads in protest. Even so, we were all drenched by the time we got to the castle. I sighed as we made our way into the warm Entrance Hall.

            “Finally, some warmth,” I said in relief.

I was soaked to the bone and freezing. I took one step towards the Great Hall when a huge water filled balloon dropped right on top of my head, sending a ice cold wave of water over me.

“P-P-PEEVES!” I roared, shivering violently.

The poltergeist was floating above me, cackling merrily at my misery. People were scrambling to get out of his line of fire. He managed to get some second years and Ron before Professor McGonagall managed to send him off.

“You okay?” Angie asked.

“N-No,” I said grumpily, pulling out my wand.

I waved it once over me, and instantly my clothes and hair became dry. My hair was a bit poofy from the drying spell, but at least I was warm.

“That’s better,” I said. “Stupid Peeves.”

“Come on, lets get in before they start the sorting,” Angie said, taking my arm and leading me down towards the Gryffindor table where Fred and George, Lee and Katie were sitting.

“I’m starving,” Lee said rubbing his stomach. “Hope they finish the Sorting quickly.”

“You ate 4 Caldron Cakes,” I said, shaking my head disbelievingly at him. “And some Pumpkin Pasties and a handful of Every Flavour Beans.”

“Yeah, well that was over an hour ago,” Lee said as if he were going to die on the spot.

“Is it just me, or are we missing a teacher?” Katie asked, looking up at the staff table.

I looked up and noticed she was right. There was a chair that was unoccupied beside Professor Dumbledore. I caught Professor Hagrid’s eye and waved happily up at him. He and I always got on good. He loved my enthusiasm for Magical Creatures.

“Maybe they couldn’t find a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,” George suggested.

“Maybe we’ll all have a free period!” Fred said happily.

“Doubtful,” I scoffed. “They’d get rid of Ancient Runes before they got rid of Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“At least we don’t have to take Potions this year,” George said happily.

“Speak for yourself,” Lee groaned. “My mum would have had a conniption if I gave it up. She seems to think Potions is important. Can’t say I share her sentiment.”

The hall began to fall silent, and I looked up and noticed the first years were lining up in front of the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat sang its song of welcome and we all watched as the new students were sorted in their proper houses. Fred and George hissed at the new little Slytherins as they scampered off towards their table.

Finally, the first years had all been sorted, and Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet.

“I have only two words to say to you all,” he called out, his eyes twinkling. “Tuck in.”

“Cheers to that!” Lee shouted.

Instantly the plates and goblets all filled themselves with the usual glorious start of term feast I had come to expect. I ate and drank and talked, happy to be back at Hogwarts with my friends.

At one point, Roger Davies caught my eye. He shot me a grin and a wink from across the hall at the Ravenclaw table. I choked into my goblet of pumpkin juice and George looked around. Following my line of sight, he scowled at Roger. To my great surprise, he put an arm around my shoulders and shot Roger a scathing look. Roger’s grin faded and his face reddened with either embarrassment or anger.

“Make him think you’re already taken, and he’ll leave you alone,” George suggested, his arm still around my shoulders. “At least until I can give him a proper telling off.”

“Uh….thanks George,” I said, trying hard to ignore the surge of pleasure his arm brought me.

“No problem,” he said lightly.

I looked at Angie and she was grinning knowingly at me. I quickly turned my attention back to my mashed potatoes.

Once everyone was stuffed to the brim, the food and drink disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet for his usual start of term speech.

"So!" said Dumbledore, beaming around at us. "Now that we are all

fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of

objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

Fred and George smiled wickedly at each other.

"As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year,” Dumbledore continued. “It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

“WHAT?!” Angie and I bellowed together.

The twins were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, too appalled to speak.

“But, why!” Katie exclaimed.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

Dumbledore was interrupted by a loud clap of thunder and the doors to the Great Hall being thrown open. A man stood in the doorway wearing a long cloak and leaning heavily upon a staff. He lowered the cloak around his head and I saw him shake a mane of dark grey hair out. Silence filled the hall as he walked up towards he teachers table. Several people gasped as his face came into view.

He was scarred on every inch of his face. A great piece of his nose was taken out, and I even saw he had a wooden leg. It looked like he had been carved up quite a bit over the span of his life. The most shocking feature of this man was a large false eye that was electric blue and swirling around in it’s socket. It rolled quite independently from his normal eye, and even went white as it rolled towards the back of his head.

When the man reached Dumbledore, he shook the headmaster’s hand and muttered low in his throat. I couldn’t catch what they were saying, but Dumbledore seemed to know him. The man sat down in the empty teachers chair beside Dumbledore, and began to pull a plate of sausages towards him.

“May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?” Dumbledore said brightly. “Professor Moody.”

“Not, Mad Eye Moody?” Fred started.

“Who?” I asked.

“He was this Auror back when You-Know-Who was in power. He’s a legend,” George whispered to me. “Dad says more than half the cells in Azkaban are filled because of him.”

“Maybe he’ll at least know his stuff then, even if he looks like he should be in St. Mungo’s,” I said.

Dumbledore cleared his throat to silence the hall, which had broken out into whispered conversations.

“As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year.”

“YOU’RE JOKING!” Fred yelled loudly. I laughed at him, alongside everyone else.

“I am not joking, Mr. Weasley,” Dumbledore chuckled, “though now you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar.”

I snorted and Katie and Angie giggled. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.

“Ah, but perhaps this is not the time…no…” said Dumbledore. “Where was I? Ah, yes, the Tournament. Well some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving this short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.”

At this, my group of friends put our heads together and began whispering fervently.

“What do you reckon?” Fred asked at once.

“You mean are you thinking about entering?” I asked.

“Well yeah, the winners usually win a load of gold,” he said. “We could use that for our joke shop.”

“But isn’t the tournament usually really dangerous?” I asked.

“Sure, but we’re up to it aren’t we George?” he said dismissively.

“Definitely,” George agreed, nodding.

“It would be nice to win a mound of gold,” Lee agreed.

“We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween,” Dumbledore was saying. “An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money.”

I whistled low in my throat, impressed by the amount of winnings.

“I’m going for it!” Fred said excitedly.

“"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration.”

“OY!” Fred called angrily.

“This is a measure we feel is necessary,” Dumbledore continued, raising his voice slightly over the angry mumbles that had broken out over the hall. “Given that the tournament tasks will be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them.”

“Angie, you can enter!” I said, turning towards her. I knew her 17th birthday was in mid October.

“Yeah, maybe,” Angie said smiling at me.

“I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts Champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under 17. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts Champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning . Bedtime! Chop chop!” Dumbledore finished, turning to speak to Moody again.

“They can’t do that!” roared George who was refusing to move with the crowd that was exiting the Great Hall. “We’re 17 in April, why can’t we have a shot?!”

“They’re not going to stop me from entering,” Fred said angrily. “A thousand Galleons prize money!”

“Come on you guys,” I said sighing. “It’s not the end of the world.”

“How can you say that?” George asked me as we moved towards the Entrance Hall. “You don’t get to enter either. You’re not 17 until December.”

“I don’t want to enter,” I told him. He looked at me with shock. “What? I don’t want glory or Galleons. I just want to get through this year without being dismembered or seeing one of you beheaded.”

“Are you saying that Fred and I aren’t up to it?” he scoffed.

“No,” I replied. “I just think the pair of you have been known to be a bit reckless.”

“Who’s this impartial judge who’s going to decide who the champions are?” Harry asked as we neared him.

“Dunno,” said Fred, “but it’s them we’ll have to fool. I reckon a couple of drops of Aging Potion might do it, George.”

I sighed and left them to discuss the tournament. I caught up to Angie and we made our way up the stairs towards the common room.

“Going to enter then?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said grinning.

“Don’t tell the twins I said this, but I think you’d do better than they would. You’re a bit more level headed,” I said.

“Speaking of the twins, George seems to be really smooching up to you this year,” Angie said with a grin.

“Oh not this again,” I sighed.

“Come on Ellie, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed it,” she said as we rounded a corner and slid behind a tapestry.

I remained silent, but I could feel my cheeks burning.

“So you have noticed it,” she said with satisfaction. “He fancies you, I know it.”

“Either that or he thinks I need to be protected like Ginny,” I said, thinking about how protective he had been acting.

“He doesn’t look at Ginny the way he looks at you,” she said pointedly.

I didn’t say anything as we climbed through the portrait hole. We made our way up the stairs towards our dormitory. We found Alicia unpacking her trunk.

“ALICIA!” I squealed running up to her.

“There you two are!” she cried, throwing her arms around me. “I missed you at dinner.”

“Yeah, you were too busy making eyes at your boyfriend,” Angie giggled.

Patricia Stimpson, our fellow 6th year entered the room and the three of us instantly fell silent. We had never gotten on well with Patricia. She was a snobby, gossipy girl that had a very high opinion of herself.

She ignored us and went straight for her usual bed, disappearing behind the curtains with her nose in the air. I rolled my eyes at her and Alicia grinned. We all sat down on Alicia’s bed and I pulled the curtains around us as well. I cast a soundproofing charm around us before we began talking. Patricia was known to spread rumors and we didn’t want her overhearing anything that could be of interest to her.

Alicia told us all about her summer. Angie and I told her about the World Cup and about George’s possible infatuation with me. We stayed up quite late that night, talking and giggling and just enjoying each other’s company.


	7. Lessons

> “Get up or you’ll be late!”

I groaned into my pillow.

> “Ellie Ollivander! You will not lay in bed all day and leave me to deal with the twins by myself!” Angie shouted, shaking me awake.
> 
> “Oh all right, I’m getting up,” I groaned, sitting up and blinking around the dormitory.

Patricia and Alicia weren’t in the room, which meant they had already gone down to breakfast. Angie was standing with her hands over her hips, fully dressed. Grumbling, I began to get dressed for the day. I yawned and waved my wand, sending my hair into a messy bun. Angie stayed in the dorm until I was finished dressing, making sure I didn’t fall back asleep. It had been known to happen before. I stumbled after her down the stairs, through the portrait hole, and towards the Great Hall. If it weren’t for Angie, I’d never have time for breakfast.

> “There you two are,” Fred said as we approached.
> 
> “Morning,” I yawned.
> 
> “Couldn’t get this one out of bed,” Angie said nodding her head at me.
> 
> “That’s our Ellie,” George chuckled. “Wouldn’t get out of bed if the Minister of Magic himself ordered her to.”
> 
> “But I do it for our Angie,” I said with a grin, pouring myself some coffee.
> 
> “So as I was saying before you decided to grace us with your presence,” Fred said, “Lee figures just a few drops of an Aging potion should be able to get us into the Tournament.”
> 
> “So you’re in on it too are you?” Katie asked Lee.
> 
> “Why not? I could use a bit of glory and gold,” Lee said grinning.
> 
> “But I’m telling you, Dumbledore will never let you three into the Tournament,” I said through a mouth full of toast.
> 
> “Dumbledore isn’t the one who decides who gets to be Champion,” George said with a smirk. “We’ve just got to convince the impartial judge.”

I shrugged, knowing it was no good trying to convince them their idea would never work. McGonagall came by a minute later to hand out our schedules.

> “Ms. Ollivander, you’re cleared to continue with Charms, Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology. Unfortunatly, Professor Snape doesn’t take anyone that does not achieve and Outstanding, so you may not continue with Potions,” McGonagall told me.
> 
> “Bummer,” I said with sarcasm. “I’ll stay with Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, and Herbology.”
> 
> “Very well,” she said, and she handed me my schedule.
> 
> “I’ve got Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology and Charms,” George said examining his schedule.
> 
> “I’m not taking Herbology this year,” Fred said. “I didn’t get the OWL for it. I’ve got Transfiguration though.”
> 
> “You mean you two are going to be split up?” Angie asked. “Is the world ending?”
> 
> “Oh shut it,” Fred said. “At least we don’t have to be stuck in stinking Potions first thing this morning.”
> 
> “Well I better get down to Hagrid’s,” I said. “Give Snape all my love, Angie. And you two behave yourselves on your free period.”
> 
> “You know us,” Fred said.
> 
> “We’re the picture of innocence,” George said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes and left to go down to Hagrid’s. I was one of the very few taking Care of Magical Creatures at a NEWT level. Many believed him to be an inadequate teacher, but I knew he had his heart in the right place. I spent the first part of the lesson telling him about my summer and all the interesting creatures I met. Then he took us around and showed us the creatures he was making the 4th years take care of. He called them Blast Ended Skrewts, but I was pretty sure they had some Fire Crab in them. I did not envy those poor 4th years. We ended up walking down to the lake where he began his lesson on Merpeople. It was actually quite enjoyable. He had gotten a merman to come up so we could have a good look at him.

After Care of Magical Creatures, I made my way over to the green houses for Herbology. I found George waiting for me outside alongside a few other 6th year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

> “Where’s Lee?” I asked.
> 
> “He didn’t make the cut. He got a Dreadful in Herbology,” George told me. “What about Angie?”
> 
> “She didn’t want to continue with Herbology. She thinks its boring,” I told him with a shrug.
> 
> “Guess it’s just us then,” he said.
> 
> “Yeah,” I said, feeling my cheeks grow oddly warm.

A minute later, Professor Sprout strode over from Greenhouse 2 and opened the door to Greenhouse 6 for us. She ushered us inside and we stood around the tables, surveying the odd plants in the room. There several rather nasty looking plants growing up the walls. They looked like small trees, but they were covered in vines that were quivering threateningly. The trunk had large, sharp fangs in a wide mouth near the center of the stump.

> “Welcome to 6th year Herbology,” Professor Sprout said. “I’m so glad that you have decided to continue. This year, we will be working with rather dangerous plants, so I warn you all to exercise caution in this greenhouse. You see along the walls we have several Venomous Tentaculas. Can anyone tell me how we benefit from harvesting these plants?”

Kenneth Trowley, a Hufflepuff boy raised his hand.

> “Yes, Mr. Trowley?” Professor Sprout said.
> 
> “Um, I think I read that the leaves are very valuable. The leaves are used to make an antidote to the bite of the Venomous Tentacula itself,” Kenneth said.
> 
> “Excellent, ten points to Hufflepuff,” she said smiling. “It is true, the Venomous Tentacula is highly poisonous. In fact, a single bite from one of these plants can cause death if left untreated. The only known antidote comes from the leaves of the plant, which makes them incredibly valuable because it is so difficult to harvest these leaves without getting bitten. This is what you will be doing today. I would like for you all to partner up and one of you will be stunning the vines while the other collects the leaves. Take care not to let them strangle you, and if you get into any trouble, I will be circulating the room making sure nothing goes awry.”

I looked at George, who was looking at the Venomous Tentacula near us warily.

> “You stun and I harvest?” I suggested.
> 
> “Yeah, okay,” he said, pulling out his wand.

The vines raised up menacingly as I approached the Tentacula. It’s mouth opened and it hissed at me through its many sharp fangs.

> “Be careful,” George warned. “I’m going to stun it.”

I stepped out of they way and George began stunning the many vines that were shooting out, trying to grab me. It was hard work. I had to pounce on the vines that George stunned while making sure none of the other vines could grab me. Unfortunately the stunning spells only lasted a few minutes before George had to re-stun the plant. We soon found our groove, and I had a small pile of leaves in the bowl on top of our table.

> “So Fred told me something interesting last night,” George said as I continued to pick off the leaves.
> 
> “What was that?” I asked.
> 
> “He’s going to ask Angelina to go with him our first Hogsmead trip of the term,” George said grinning. “You know, as a date.”
> 
> “He said that?!” I said excitedly, forgetting about the plant for a second.
> 
> “Yeah, he really wants to lock things down with her. He really likes her a lot.”
> 
> “It’s about time!” I exclaimed. “I’ve been rooting for those two for ages.”
> 
> “Yeah, so have I,” he said happily. “Don’t tell Angie though. I think Fred wants to surprise her.”
> 
> “Never took him to be a romantic,” I said impressed.
> 
> “He learned from the best,” George grinned.
> 
> “Who? Charlie?”
> 
> “Me,” George said with a wink.
> 
> “Oh really? And who have you been romancing?” I scoffed.
> 
> “No one yet,” George said shrugging. "But I know how to lay on the charm."
> 
> “Ah, so you’re planning on sweeping someone off their feet?” I said, smiling, though a strange sense of jealousy rose within me. “Who is it? Is it Katie?”
> 
> “You know perfectly well Lee fancies Katie,” George said. “I wouldn’t do that to him.”
> 
> “True. It’s not Patricia Stimpson is it? I can’t stand her, so don’t expect me to-“

I was cut off by a long vine that had been sneaking over my shoulder without my notice. It wound it’s way around my neck and squeezed tightly, cutting off my air supply.

> “Ellie!” George cried, bounding forward. He tried to pull me away, but the vine just squeezed tighter.
> 
> “Diffindo!” he shouted, pointing his wand towards the Tentacula. His shot missed and it hit another vine that had sprung up in front of him. I gasped, desperate for breath. My vision started to go cloudy.
> 
> “Diffindo!” he cried again, and this time his spell hit. Instantly, I felt the vine go slack, and I fell to the floor, gasping for air.
> 
> “Ellie?! Are you okay?” George said, leaning over me.
> 
> “Yeah, I think so,” I croaked, sitting up. “Stupid plant.”
> 
> “It was my fault. I wasn’t paying attention,” George said frowning. “Sorry, Ellie.”
> 
> “It’s okay,” I told him, looking up into his eyes. Have they always been that light and warm? “Thanks for getting it off.”

His mouth twitched in a grin and I knew he was trying not to laugh. I smiled too.

> “That’s what she said,” we said in unison.

We laughed loudly, earning a scathing look from Professor Sprout. He helped me to my feet and the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson. We took off towards the castle, still laughing at our own stupid joke.

 

 

 

Defense Against the Dark Arts was the only class that our whole gang (that is to say Angie, Lee, Fred, George and I) shared. We had all heard of the infamous Mad Eye Moody at some point and we were all interested to see if he would be off his rocker, as that article in the Daily Prophet seemed to suggest. We took our usual seats near the back and waited for Moody to arrive.

> “Wonder if he’ll be as good as Lupin,” Angie said beside me.
> 
> “Doubt it. Lupin was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this place has ever seen,” I said, admiringly. “He got us all through our OWLs.”
> 
> “It’s a shame he was a werewolf,” she sighed.
> 
> “It’s a shame that people were so prejudiced against him,” I scoffed. “I don’t care that he turned furry once a month. At least he knew what he was doing.”

Just then, the door opened and Moody walked in.

> “Books away. You won’t be needing them,” he growled.

We all put our books away while he proceeded to take roll. His magical blue eye never stopped swirling around in it’s socket. It was a bit unnerving if truth be told. When he got to my name he paused.

> “Any relation to Garrick Ollivander?”
> 
> “He’s my grandfather,” I told him.
> 
> “Great wandmaker, never met a better one,” he said, and I smiled.

He continued taking roll and he cast a scrutinizing look over the twins who were mumbling under their breath about something.

> “Right then,” he began. “Looks like you’ve covered the basics, dark creatures, common jinxes and counter jinxes and other forms of basic defensive magic. But you are all quite behind on the more difficult and darker curses. It is my job to teach you, to show you what’s really waiting out there, to prepare you for life in the real world, when situations can get out of control in the blink of an eye.”

His eye swirled around, glaring at us all.

> “What I will be showing you isn’t for the faint of heart. It won’t be pretty, in fact it will be some of the foulest magic that you’ve ever seen, but you’ve got to know. You’ve got to see what’s out there. Constant vigilance!”

We all jumped a bit in our seats as he barked these last words.

> “Now, there are several curses a wizard can use that will result in imprisonment in Azkaban, but there are only three that will earn you a lifelong sentence. Can anyone tell me what these curses are called?”

I raised my hand.

> “Miss Ollivander?”
> 
> “They’re the Unforgiveable Curses, aren’t they?” I asked tentatively.
> 
> “Indeed they are. And rightfully named so. Who can give me one of these curses?” he asked, looking around.

Luke Benly raised his hand and Moody called on him.

> “There’s the Cruciatus Curse,” he said.
> 
> “Good, yes the Cruciatus Curse is a nasty piece of spell work. It’s best if I showed you, for you all to get the full effect of it,” Moody said darkly.

He reached under his desk and pulled out a jar. In the jar was a large black spider. He opened the lid and tilted the jar, spilling the spider onto his desk. He pointed his wand at spider and muttered “Crucio!”

The spider crumpled in on itself and began twitching like mad as it was obviously feeling terrible pain. We all watched with horror as the spider rocked back and forth, its limbs twisting unnaturally.

> “Complete and total pain,” Moody said in a low voice.

He pulled his wand away, and the spider fell still, alive but in obvious agony.

> “This particular curse was a big hit back when You-Know-Who was around. You don’t need Veritaserum to get the truth out of someone if you use the Cruciatus. A few minutes or even hours of this would be enough to get any wizard to spill his darkest secrets, providing he doesn’t go mad first. Sadly, I’ve actually seen that…a wizard I knew was tortured for hours with the Cruciatus, and his mind broke. He’s still in St. Mungo’s, and he doesn’t have a clue who or where he is."

We all sat in silence absorbing this information. He was right, this was definitely dark stuff. Darker by far than anything we had learned previously. Even the Dementors paled compared to this. I mean, at least Dementors were dark creatures. These spells were put on people by their fellow man, other wizards who had gone dark.

> “Another, give me another curse,” Moody barked into the silence. “Mister Weasley?”
> 
> “Uh, the Imperius Curse,” Fred said.
> 
> “Good,” Moody nodded. “The Imperius Curse causes the victim to be placed under total control by the caster. See here.”

Once again, he turned his wand onto the spider. The spider scuttled away quickly, but Moody was too fast for it.

> “Imperio!” he cried, and the spider stilled.

The spider began to tap dance on the top of the desk. Then it began doing cartwheels back and forth. Next, it broke out in a sort of hula dance. A few people laughed, but I remained silent. I knew it couldn’t be fun being placed under someone’s control.

> “Imagine being placed under the Imperius curse,” Moody growled lowly. “You could be made to jump off a building, you could be made to slaughter your entire family!”

Everyone was silent again.

> “It was some job for the Ministry to sort out who was under the Imperius Curse and who was acting of their own accord. And of course there were liars who claimed they were under the Imperius Curse. If you ask me, more than one guilty wizard went free because they were exceptional liars…..but nevermind that. Who can give me the last curse?”

This time, no one raised their hands. Moody gave us a final glance before he pointed his wand once more at the spider.

> “Avada Kedavra,” Moody said in barely more than a whisper.

A green light shot out of his wand and hit the still dancing spider. It fell instantly to table and moved no more. It was dead.

> “Perhaps the worst of all the curses,” Moody said. “The Killing Curse. There’s no blocking it. There’s no stopping it. Best to avoid it, if possible. Only one person in history has ever been known to survive it, and he’s currently in his 4th year here at Hogwarts.”

Angie and I exchanged a look. We knew he was talking about Harry Potter.

> “This was perhaps the most popular curse used with the Death Eaters. They murdered dozens, even hundreds of Muggles and witches and wizards with this spell. The spell itself requires quite a bit of power behind it. It’s not a spell that can be mastered on command, it takes practice and anger and darkness. But I’m not going to teach you how to do it. I’m just showing you what it looks like so you’re all prepared, so you all understand what’s waiting out there.”

The rest of the lesson was spent by taking notes about the Unforgiveable Curses. Moody would pause every now and again from writing notes on the board when he would share a story about the things he’d seen during the days of You-Know-Who. He really seemed to know his stuff, at least where dark wizards were concerned. The bell rang, and we all were released for lunch.

We chose seats close to where Ron and Harry were sitting. I began digging into a large plate of beef casserole, suddenly ravenous.

> “Moody!” Fred said in awe. “How cool is he?”
> 
> “Beyond cool,” George said.
> 
> “Supercool,” Lee agreed.
> 
> “A bit scary, but yeah, he’s pretty awesome,” I said around a huge bite of casserole.
> 
> “We had him this afternoon,” George told the younger boys.
> 
> “What was it like?” Harry asked eagerly.
> 
> “Never had a lesson like it,” Fred said with enthusiasm.
> 
> “He knows, man,” Lee said mystically.
> 
> “Knows what?” Ron asked.
> 
> “Knows what it’s like to be out there doing it,” George said impressively.
> 
> I sniggered into my casserole.
> 
> “Doing what?” Harry asked, ignoring my sniggering.
> 
> “Fighting the Dark Arts,” Fred said.
> 
> “He’s seen it all,” George said, also ignoring me.
> 
> “'Mazing,” said Lee.
> 
> “We haven’t got him till Thursday!” Ron exclaimed, after checking his schedule.
> 
> “You just wait,” I said, emerging from my food. “He’s nearly as good as Lupin.”

 

The rest of the week passed by rather uneventfully. I found I had a lot more free time this year. I spent my free periods either catching up on my homework, playing Exploding Snap with Angie, or reading in my favorite spot out on the grounds by the lake. I had found a cozy little tree my first year and I could often be found occupying its branches with a thick book in my hands.

Today, I was reading a very good book about a witch who fell in love with a wizard who had been cursed with a powerful memory charm. The witch had to try to make the wizard fall in love with her again, even though she was heartbroken that he didn’t remember her. What can I say? I’m a sucker for romance.

> “Oy! Ellie!” a voice called, breaking me out of my world of cliché love stories.

I looked down and found Fred and George standing down at the base of the tree, looking up at me.

> “What’s up?” I called.
> 
> “We need your advice,” Fred said. “Come down, will you?”
> 
> “Fine,” I huffed.

I marked my page and tossed it down. It landed with a soft thud near George’s feet. Carefully, I climbed towards the end of the branch I had been sitting on. I swung down and fell, landing on my feet.

> “ _Obliviate_ _My_ _Heart_?” George said with a hint of disgust, holding the book I had been reading. “Since when do you read this garbage?”
> 
> “Hey, we all have our guilty pleasures,” I said blushing and grabbing the book away from him. “What did you need?”
> 
> “We have a situation,” Fred said, taking a seat on the grass, facing the lake.
> 
> “We didn’t want to involve you, but the situation hasn’t improved any,” George said, sitting beside his brother. I sat down too, leaning against the trunk of the tree.
> 
> “What did you two do?” I asked narrowing my eyes.
> 
> “Nothing,” Fred said. “It’s Bagman.”
> 
> “Ludo Bagman?” I asked.
> 
> “Yeah, it seems he decided to pay us in leprechaun gold at the Cup when we won,” George said. “It disappeared.”
> 
> “Oh…maybe it was an accident,” I shrugged. “Maybe he got his gold mixed up.”
> 
> “That’s what George thought,” Fred said. “But we wrote him about it before term started, and he hasn’t replied. I think he’s avoiding us.”
> 
> “You think he cheated you?” I asked.
> 
> “Might be, yeah,” Fred replied.
> 
> “So, what do you think we should do?” George asked.
> 
> “Have you told anyone else about this?” I asked slowly.
> 
> “No,” Fred said shaking his head.
> 
> “Well,” I said thoughtfully. “You don’t want to go accusing a Ministry official of cheating you. He seemed like a nice man, but you never know. He does have some authority after all. Just be careful not to threaten him. Maybe you should ask Lee about this. I think I remember him saying his father knew Bagman. Maybe Mr. Jordan could tell you how to deal with Bagman.”
> 
> “Not a bad idea,” Fred said. “Thanks Ellie.”
> 
> “I hope you get that gold back,” I said with concern.
> 
> “You’re telling us,” George grumbled. “We were going to use that gold on for premises in Diagon Alley.”
> 
> “You found a location?” I asked, surprised.
> 
> “Not yet,” Fred said. “But we started looking into it ages ago. The amount of gold it costs to purchase the permits and the premises is unbelievable. Then there’s advertising and the amount it costs to keep products restocked…”
> 
> “You’ve thought a lot about this,” I said, impressed.
> 
> “Well yeah,” George said. “We plan on starting it as soon as we get done with school next year.”
> 
> “Is Lee going in on it with you?” I asked.
> 
> “Yeah, we think so. He’s a genius when it comes to advertising. He’s got a way with words,” Fred told me.
> 
> “Well, maybe he can help you write a letter to Bagman then,” I suggested. “He should be able to word it properly for you.”
> 
> “Yeah, maybe,” Fred conceded, tossing a few pebbles into the lake.

In the distance, I could make out a long tentacle emerging from the water. The giant squid popped up to blink at us a few times, then it submerged back into the depths of the lake.

 

 

The next few weeks passed without much incident. We continued learning about the Tentacula in Herbology. George and I made sure to pay attention when we were around it, having learned our lesson that first day. I didn’t think anything would change this year, but being alone with George in Herbology, away from his brother and Lee had somehow brought us closer.

We had actual conversations about things we had never discussed before. He opened up to me about how hard it was growing up with so many brothers, how he felt a bit overlooked, especially being a twin. People seemed to think of he and Fred as a single entity, always Fred and George, and sometimes it bothered him that no one thought of him as just George. I told him about how it bothered me how sometimes my grandfather sheltered me too much. He didn’t want me to grow up, and while I understood somewhat given what happened to his daughter, but still. I wanted freedom to make my own decisions in my life. George turned out to be a really good listener.

In Moody’s class, he put the Imperius curse on each of us, trying to get us to fight it off. It took two weeks of me jumping around like a rabbit, reciting operas I had never heard, and dancing around wildly to music only I could hear in my head, before finally I was able to fight the curse off somewhat.

> “Better, much better!” Moody cried as I fell to my knees, panting. “They won’t get you so easily!”

George offered me his arm, and he pulled me up off the floor.

> “Thanks,” I breathed. “At least he didn’t make me do backflips again.”
> 
> “You did a lot better,” George said. “He tried to make you dance, but you sort of just went rigid instead.”
> 
> “Wish he would put some cushions down,” I said, rubbing my sore knees.

The bell rang signaling our day was done. We collected our bags and went off towards Gryffindor Tower. We all shared a free period at the end of the day, so the rest of the school was still in class when we got back to the empty common room. We settled ourselves around the fire, lounging around on the squishy sofas and armchairs.

> “So darling Angie, any ideas of how you’d like to spend your birthday tomorrow?” I asked.
> 
> “Oh, not really. I’m not expecting anything,” she said humbly.
> 
> “Nonsense!” I cried. “You only turn 17 once. We have to do something.”
> 
> “Party!” Fred cried, leaping up from his chair. He began dancing in a very gyrating manner.
> 
> “YES!” roared Lee, joining Fred in his idiotic dance.
> 
> “How about it?” I asked Angie, with a grin.
> 
> “Well...” she said, a smile creeping across her face. “I suppose it is the weekend….but we’ll have to find a place to do it.”
> 
> “George and I will take care of that,” Fred promised.
> 
> “We’ll let you girls know when and where,” George told us. “Just leave the rest to us.”

They left abruptly at this, and Lee followed.

> “Hope they get some Firewhiskey,” I said, staring after them.
> 
> “You know they will,” Angie said with a laugh. “They’ve never let us down before.”


	8. Friends and Firewhiskey

“Hey, Ellie!”

I groaned. It was Roger Davies calling me from across the Entrance Hall. We had just left dinner and were heading back to the common room when he spotted me.

“Want me to jinx him for you?” Fred offered.

“No, you guys go ahead. I’ll meet up with you in the common room,” I told them.

I turned and strode over to Roger. He was leaning against the wall looking handsome as always.

“What’s up, Roger?” I asked.

“I haven’t been able to talk to you in a while,” he said flashing me a smile. “How have you been?”

“Uh, not bad. Just busy I guess. Enjoying your classes?” I asked, rather awkwardly.

“Yeah, mostly. That Mad Eye Moody is a bit off his rocker, but his lessons are interesting,” Rogers said. He shot a glance over my shoulder and his expression darkened. “Listen, is there something going on with you and Weasley?”

I looked back and saw George was standing where I had left him. It seemed he decided to wait for me.

“No,” I said honestly, turning back to Roger. “We’re just friends.”

“Doesn’t look that way to me,” Roger grumbled. “He’s a bit protective of you, isn’t he?”

“He’s just watching out for me. You do have a reputation of tossing girls away like old quills,” I said pointedly.

“What? Did Weasley tell you that?” Roger asked angrily.

“I’ve heard it from several people,” I said. “Look, I’m sorry, but I’m not looking to be you’re next conquest.”

“What, you think Weasley will be any better for you? Not bloody likely! Everyone knows he’s too poor to afford a girlfriend. He and his brother would sooner sell you around than actually give a damn about you.”

Anger shot through me, white hot like burning lava. I don’t remember raising my fist, but the next second, Roger was sprawled out on the ground, his nose issuing a stream of blood.

“Don’t you dare talk about them like that!” I spat. “You ever come near me again and I’ll curse you so hard, you won’t be able to sit on a broom the right way ever again!”

“Ellie!” George said when I walked back to him. “What was that?!”

“He pissed me off,” I growled, climbing the marble steps towards Gryffindor Tower.

“I’ll say!” he exclaimed with awe. “That was some hit! What did he say to piss you off that much?”

“Nothing important,” I said. “Let’s just say he won’t be bothering me anymore.”

“Not if he values his nose,” George laughed.

We walked in silence for a bit. I was still seething.

“Are you okay?” George asked tentatively.

“Roger Davies is a complete asshat!” I yelled, stopping in front of the portrait hole.

“Ellie, you can do better than Davies,” George said kindly. “Way better.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Hell, Snape would be better than Roger bloody Davies,” I huffed.

“Shall I go and ask Snape if he’s interested then?” George said, trying not to laugh. “Hmm…you might have stop washing your hair, yours is much too clean for his taste.”

That got a laugh out of me, and George grinned.

“Seriously though, Ells. Davies has dung for brains. Whatever he said to upset you, don’t you think on it. It’s his loss anyways, losing a catch like you.”

I blinked up at him, a smile spreading across my face. He was looking down at me with a very odd expression. It was a very soft, almost fond expression, like he was looking at a full box of Zonko’s products. My stomach gave an involuntary lurch, and my heart increased it’s rate.

“This is all very touching, but are you going inside or am I going to have to watch you two make eyes at each other all night?” The Fat Lady asked in a rather annoyed voice.

“Like you have anything better to do,” George grumbled at her. “Balderdash.”

“Hmmph,” the Fat Lady said quite affronted, but the painting swung forwards nevertheless.

The Common Room was quite crowded as it was a Friday evening. We spotted Katie, Alicia, Angie, Fred and Lee all sitting around a squashy old sofa near the back. We crossed the common room and I shot Harry, Ron and Hermione a wave as we passed them. I sat down on the floor in front of Angie, leaning against her legs.

“What did Roger want?” Angie asked, flashing me a smile.

“He wanted to be a git,” I huffed. “I don’t think he’ll be bothering me anymore.”

“You all should have seen it,” George said with a laugh. “She knocked him straight on his ass! I never knew she could throw a punch like that!”

“Ellie! You punched Roger Davies!?” Katie exclaimed.

“Good job mate!” Fred roared.

“What did he say to you?” Alicia asked, her eyes wide.

“He was just being a moron….” I said evasively. Angie raised a brow, looking down at me with a severe expression. I sighed.

“He insulted these two idiots,” I told her, gesturing to Fred and George. “They may be idiots, but they’re MY idiots, and only I am allowed to insult them.”

“Awww, Ellie,” Fred said, leaning down and wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I yelped as he jerked me backwards onto the couch, so I was sitting in his lap. “Sticking up for us against that bully Davies!”

“And we thought you didn’t care!” George exclaimed dramatically, coming over and hugging me as well, so that I was sandwiched between the two.

“OY!” I yelled, struggling against them as they laughed manically. I looked at Angie who was also laughing. I rolled my eyes at her.

Finally, they released me. I slid back to the floor, rubbing my ribs.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you lot,” George said, settling himself beside me on the rug. “McGonagall said we could use her empty classroom tomorrow for Angie’s birthday, but we have to be back in the common room by curfew. So I figured we could all meet there around 7. And Fred and I were able to get our hands on a couple bottles of Firewhiskey.”

“Nice!” Angie said eagerly. “Thanks you guys!”

“Anything for you, darling,” Fred said thickly, waggling his eyebrows at her.

I pretended to vomit, earning a kick from Angie.

 

 

Angie, Alicia, Katie and I spent the next day flying over the lake on our brooms. Since we didn’t have Quidditch practice anymore, I had really missed flying. We had tried to invite Fred, George and Lee, but they were nowhere to be found. It was a fun day though. We all laughed as we zoomed around the lake. I nearly fell off at one point as I tried to high five the giant squid.

Finally, the sun began to sink beyond the horizon and we were all becoming quite chilled so we went inside to get ready for Angie’s party. We all took showers and changed into casual clothes. I curled Angie’s long hair with my wand.

“Don’t know why you’re even bothering,” she sighed. “It will just look frizzy tomorrow.”

“Well tonight you will look gorgeous, birthday girl,” I said. “Besides, Fred has never seen your hair curled has he?”

“So?” she asked casually, but a blush was tingeing her cheeks.

“So, you’re going to knock his socks off with how great it looks,” I said smiling widely at her.

“You really want me to hook up with Fred don’t you?” Angie asked with a grin. “You keep nagging me about it.”

“Well, I just think that you two would be really good together,” I said shrugging. “Come on, you have to admit you go a bit weak in the knees when you see him.”

“I refuse to admit to anything,” she said stubbornly. “But…I won’t deny anything either.”

I beamed at her.

 

Twenty minutes later, Alicia, Katie, Angie and I were walking down the corridor towards McGonagall’s classroom. We entered and found Fred, George and Lee already waiting on us.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” they all cried when Angie walked through the door.

“Oh you guys!” she said happily, beaming around at them.

The boys had done a really good job setting everything up. There were several desks pushed together that they had loaded up with various sweets and cakes. I noticed there was a large pile of Honeydukes candy as well as several bottles of butterbeers.

“Nice job guys!” I said impressed at their haul.

“Looks like you’ve forgotten one crucial thing,” Angie said with a smirk as she glanced down at food and drink.

“You mean this?” Fred asked slyly, pulling out a bottle of Firewhiskey from his jacket pocket. Both George and Lee followed suit.

“Knew you’d come through for me,” Angie said, taking the bottle from his outstretched hands. She uncapped the bottle and took a swig. She didn’t even shudder. I was quite proud.

“Let’s get this party started!” Fred called, taking a sip from the bottle.

“Cheers!” George agreed, taking a swallow from his own bottle. He grinned cheekily at me and offered the bottle. I took it from him and partook jovially.

 

We all ate and drank and laughed for quite some time. Honestly, it was the most fun I’d had in a long time. We made our way through all the candy and all the cakes, though we spent more time drinking from the Firewhiskey bottles as the night wore on. Soon, it was time for Angie to open up her presents.

“Ohhh, Ellie!” Angie said as she opened up my present that I had just handed to her. “Thank you! This is just what I need for my new broom!”

She held up the broomstick polisher set I had bought her and smiled at me.

“You’re welcome my fraannd! Happy Birfday to ye!” I said thickly, my head was buzzing slightly from the Firewhiskey.

“And this one is from me,” George said, handing her a parcel.

“It’s not going to bite me is it?” she asked warily.

“Only if you ask nicely,” he said with a wicked grin. She rolled her eyes and ripped open the paper.

“Oooo what are these?” Angie asked.

“It’s a selection of products we’ve invented. There are Canary Cremes, Ton Tongue Toffees, and Nosebleed Nougats,” George said, smiling. “Use them on your friends or foes.”  
            “Thanks Georgie, Thanks Freddie,” Angie said with a laugh. “These will come in handy.”

“Actually,” Fred said in a nervous sort of way. “I got you something else. But you’ll have to come out into the hall to get it.”

“Oh,” Angie said, her eyes going wide and her cheeks going rather pink. “Right… okay.”

I watched the two stumble towards the door, both of their faces were flushed.

“Ok, spill,” I said rounding on George when the door was shut.

“Ask me no secrets,” he said in a singsong voice, taking another sip from the bottle.

“Oh come on,” I groaned. “Lee, what is Fred up to?”

“I’ll give you three guesses,” he said waggling his brows at me.

“Is he snogging Angelina?!” Katie exclaimed.

“Ooooo!” Alicia squealed.

“A little birthday snogging…..good for them,” I said happily. “It was about time.”

“Speaking of birthday snogging,” Lee said, giving Katie a suggestive look.

“It’s not your birthday,” she said rolling her eyes.

“It’s somebody’s birthday, so it’s still birthday snogging,” he said, throwing an arm around her.

“Here, here!” George called, raising his nearly empty bottle of firewhiskey.

He stumbled slightly and I steadied him.

“You okay, Georgie?” I asked, chuckling. “Over did it a bit with the Firewhiskey have we?”

“Nah, I’m fine!” he said, throwing an arm around me. “How are you? Roger Davies been giving you any more trouble?”

“Nah, he’s stayed away from me. I threatened to curse his man parts if he came near me again, so I think he’s pretty much got the idea,” I said grinning.

“That’s my girl,” George said fondly, hugging me tight.

I blinked, rather shocked at this affectionate display but I hugged him back nevertheless. I breathed in deep, taking in his scent. He smelled like something sweet mixed in with a hint of Firewhiskey. It was a rather pleasant smell and somehow, it comforted me.

“Are…are you sniffing me?” George asked, peering down at me.

“Maybe,” I sighed into his chest. “You smell good.”

George looked surprised, but also rather pleased.

The door opened and we broke apart quickly. Angie and Fred were striding back in looking rather pleased. I noticed they were holding hands.

“There’s the happy couple!” Lee called.

“Oh shut it,” Angie said, though she was smiling.

“Alright you lot, it’s nearly curfew and I’m sure McGonagall is bound to come check to see if we’re out of bed,” Fred said. “We better get back to the Common Room before we all get landed in detention.”

Laughing and stumbling we all headed back and made it through the portrait hole just before curfew.

“Well, I’m beat,” Angie said. “This has been the best birthday, really, thanks you guys.”

“No need to thank us,” Fred waved. “What are friends for?”

“I’ll come too,” I said, following Angie up the stairs. “Night you guys!”

Alicia and Katie both followed as well.

Once we were in the dormitory, I rounded on Angie.

“So?!” I asked.

“So what?” Angie replied.

“Come on now Angelina!” Alicia groaned. “What happened with Fred?”

“Oh… that,” Angelina replied rather dreamily. “Well..he uh…took me out into the corridor and um…he sort of kissed me.”

“He kissed you!?” Katie cried.

“FINALLY!” I roared, jumping up in excitement. “So are you guys dating now?”

“I guess so,” Angie said with a smile. “He asked me, and I said yes.”

“FRED AND ANGELINA ARE DATING!” Alicia shouted so loudly I was sure the entire common room below could hear.

“Calm down you three!” Angie said looking rather embarrassed. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Says you!” I huffed. “I’ve been waiting on this for ages!”

“Yes well, don’t think that I didn’t see you and George getting quite cozy tonight,” Angelina said slyly. “You’ll be next, I guarantee.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said stubbornly.

Angie just smiled knowingly.


End file.
